Jean-Baptiste Humbert
Archaeologist at the Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem
Tuesday May 2nd, 2017
Archeology consists of luck and surprises. By searching for traces of the Aramean people (often mentioned in the Bible, but not well known), Jean-Baptiste Humbert, OP became interested in the site of Mafraq in the north of Jordan in 1986.
An initial excavation revealed traces of a much more recent occupation on the site: a palace of the Umayyad period, whose furnishings found on location displayed the brilliant decor of a great cosmopolitan civilization (objects coming from Armenia, Egypt, Yemen or Syria), still marked by the Byzantine administration of the previous period.
A particularly remarkable piece was a brazier made of bronze with an often erotic décor. This is consistent with ornaments of the Umayyad Palace in Jericho (Ḫirbat al-Mafgar, or Hisham’s Palace), and shows a side of this early Islamic civilization far different from the conventional image. This perhaps may explain in part why research was discontinued.