This contribution examines social practices in the Central Bathhouse in Jerash in Late Antiquity based on the ceramic assemblage, vessel glass, faunal remains, and small finds retrieved from two sections of the bathhouse's sewer. We argue that although the bathhouse underwent significant architectural alterations from its construction in the 4th c. CE to its abandonment in the late 7th, the activities taking place inside the building remained largely the same. Our study shows that even towards the end of the bathhouse's lifespan, bodily grooming remained integral to the bathing experience, while food and drink were consumed on the premises even though the bathing facilities had been reduced to a bare minimum. The faunal remains indicate the type of food consumed, while the small finds illustrate a lively environment where gaming and gambling took place in a social space frequented by men, women, and children.

In the late 1970s, the American artist, Stanley Roseman, undertook a project entitled The Monastic Life, during which he visited sixty monasteries located throughout Europe. He participated in their daily life and ‘made drawings of monks and nuns at prayer, work, and study. He drew them at the communal worship in church and in meditation in the quietude of their cells.’1 Roseman’s 1979 chalk on paper drawing of Benedictine monks at the Abbaye de Solesmes in France depicts two men with shaven heads who are dressed in long hooded robes. They are bent forward with their faces anchored towards the ground. Their eyes are closed, and their hands are carefully placed on their thighs. The men stand alone: they are the focus of the artist’s composition; they exist in isolation from their background; they are still, serene, frozen in perpetual worship and detached from their contemporary world. This is the essence of monastic life – the ideal – but it is not the full story.

Cet article examine le développement des latrines publiques à plusieurs sièges (foricae) dans les villes tardives du Proche-Orient et de l'Asie mineure. Il résume la conception et l'utilisation des latrines publiques collectives dans le monde romain et analyse leur distribution dans les villes italiennes qui ont fait l'objet de fouilles approfondies. À partir de quatre études de cas archéologiques de Méditerranée orientale, l'article examine comment des villes de différentes régions ont adapté les latrines à leur environnement bâti. Cette partie est suivie d'un aperçu des changements survenus dans la pratique de l'utilisation des latrines à la suite de la conquête arabe. L'article se termine par une discussion sur la diversité régionale de l'utilisation des latrines dans l'Antiquité tardive et sur l'impact des sensibilités religieuses quant à leur integration

A Millenium of Unbroken Habitation in Jarash's Southwest District: The 2017 season of the Late Antique Jarash Project

High-resolution insight into parasitic infections and diet of past populations in Northern Europe and the Middle East (500 BC- 1700 AD) was obtained by pre-concentration of parasite eggs from ancient latrines and deposits followed by shotgun sequencing of DNA. Complementary profiling of parasite, vertebrate and plant DNA proved highly informative in the study of ancient health, human-animal interactions as well as animal and plant dietary components. Most prominent were finding of soil-borne parasites transmitted directly between humans, but also meat-borne parasites that require consumption of raw or undercooked fish and pork. The detection of parasites for which sheep, horse, dog, pig, and rodents serves as definitive hosts are clear markers of domestic and synanthropic animals living in closer proximity of the respective sites. Finally, the reconstruction of full mitochondrial parasite genomes from whipworm (Ascaris lumbricoides) and roundworm species (Trichuris trichiura and Trichuris muris) and estimates of haplotype frequencies elucidates the genetic diversity and provides insights into epidemiology and parasite biology.

To Alan Walmsley, at sixty-fiveJarash (also Jerash, Greek Gerasa) ranks among the principal urban centres of Late Antique and Early Islamic Jordan. Despite being one of the most intensively investigated urban sites within the region, the history of Jarash during the Islamic ages, in particular after the massive earthquake of 749, remains a topic of profound disagreement. Drawing on previously unpublished data from recent excavation projects, we present here a critical review of the settlement history of Jarash from 700-1200 CE, emphasizing the resilience of local communities and the impact of long-term economic and social trends.

Cette étude présente trois latrines publiques fouillées à Jérash. Elle examine leur emplacement dans la ville, leur plan ainsi que les systèmes d’adduction et d’évacuation des eaux. Des comparaisons avec des installations trouvées dans d’autres régions du Proche-Orient permettent d’évaluer le nombre d’utilisateurs. L’article met l’accent sur des latrines qui ont été fouillées entre 2008 et 2010 dans le cadre du projet jordano-danois Islamic Jerash Project. Intégrées dans les bains centraux de Jérash, les latrines ont été fréquentées du ive à la fin du viie siècle. Elles ont été construites pour l’usage des clients de l’établissement balnéaire, mais pouvaient aussi être utilisées par des non-baigneurs, qui accédaient alors gratuitement à cette installation. Le mobilier retrouvé dans le comblement de l’égout offre non seulement un aperçu rare des activités ayant lieu dans les bains publics, mais donne aussi une idée de la manière dont l’élimination des déchets pouvait avoir été organisée dans le centre-ville de Jérash.

The 2011 Season of the Late Antique Jarash Project - Results from the Survey Southwest of the Umayyad Congregational Mosque

– Located at the intersection of the cardo and the south decumanus, the Central Bathhouse is the seventh bathhouse identified in Gerasa. From 2002 to 2010, the bathhouse was extensively excavated documenting a prolonged use from the 4th to the 8th cent. through five main architectural phases. The development reflects a changing attitude from communal bathing in large basins to washing in individual basins. This study examines the architectural development of the Central bathhouse, discusses its relationship with its immediate urban surroundings and touch upon some of the quotidian activities involved in a visit to the bathhouse. An addendum discusses the entrance to the bathhouse, a latrine and the cold-water basins discovered in 2009.