Beidha
البيضا · Bayda · al-Baydha · Beidha Neolithic Village
PPNB to Nabataean·PPNB Levantine to Nabataean·🇯🇴 Ma'an Governorate, Jordan
About
About Beidha
Pre-Pottery Neolithic B village (7200–6500 BCE) 5 km north of Petra at Siq al-Barid ('Little Petra'), first excavated by Diana Kirkbride. Stone-walled round→rectangular houses, workshop areas, and a burnt destruction level with charred cereals and early caprine herding. The later Nabataean Beidha (1st c. BCE–CE) overlies it. As part of the Petra Archaeological Park UNESCO site, Beidha demonstrates the shift from foraging to mixed farming-pastoralism at the edge of the Wadi Araba.
Why it mattersEarly village with craft specialization and earliest herded goats; Petra's prehistoric substrate.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Cause of violent burning event?
- 02Transition to Nabataean reuse continuity?
Theories
- 01Raid or accidental fire vs ritual closure
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.7200–6500 BCE (PPNB) + 1st c. BCE Nabataean reuse
- Period
- PPNB to Nabataean
- Culture
- PPNB Levantine to Nabataean
- Builders
- PPNB farmers / Nabataeans
- Purpose
- Farming hamlet → Nabataean caravanserai suburb of Petra
- Abandoned
- c.6500 BCE then reoccupied Nabataean
- Rediscovered
- 1957 Kirkbride; 1958–83 Byrd
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
1957
Kirkbride excavation
c.7000 BCE
PPNB masonry village
On the ground
Structures & features
30.3683° N · 35.4436° E · 1020 m · 3 mapped features
PPNB stone house cluster
houseCorbelled round houses Phase A2
30.3684° N · 35.4435° ENabataean caravanserai
caravanserai1st c. BCE courtyard
30.3681° N · 35.4438° EBurnt grain store
storageCharred barley/emmer cache
30.3683° N · 35.4436° E
Gallery