The Gobolitide (Al-Jibal) microregion : geography and evolution of the settlement network from Nabataean to Byzantine times

The article presents the preliminary results of a spatial and spatio-temporal analysis of the settlement landscape of the ancient north-eastern Edom area (ancient Gobolitide, Islamic Al-Jibal) from the Nabatean to Byzantine periods. We took into account various geographical factors (main morphological units, floristic regions, annual precipitation) in an attempt to understand the distribution of settlements in the micro-region. We then considered climate fluctuations to explain changes in the settlement network over time. This analysis, although based mainly on data from surface surveys rather than excavations – which would have provided more reliable information – nevertheless allows us to pose questions about the geographical distribution of sites, its nature and extent, and the causes of the observed changes in the settlement landscape of the region. The mapping of sites based on chronological and typological criteria indicated specific settlement centres concentrated in the Edomite highlands and in episodic river valleys (wadis). A special place is occupied by Wadi al-Hasa, which disturbs the distribution of sites resulting from geographical and climatic factors. In terms of the temporal aspects of the distribution, climate change appears to have had the greatest impact on the change in the number of sites between periods.