EVIDENCE FOR KARST UTILIZATION IN WATER STORAGE AT TALL DHIBAN, JORDAN

Recent investigations at Tall Dhiban, in central Jordan, indicate a long history of on-site water storage that utilized both constructed cisterns and natural topographic features. Evidence for water management strategies at Dhiban includes numerous small cisterns, which were likely in use throughout the occupational history of the site. In contrast, larger-scale water management appears to utilize the natural karst features that are common on the Dhiban Plateau. Nearby dissolution features serve as water-storage for local herders even during the modern dry season, suggesting the availability of natural water storage throughout the history of human occupation of the area. In addition, the base of the Tall preserves a plastered wall built to enclose a karst depression, indicating potential reservoir development and water storage within a pre-existing, modified karst feature. The wall itself is partially buried by colluvial sediment, suggesting that a minimum date for the utilization of this reservoir may be obtained by dating the overlying sediment. Further investigations of karst utilization will inform our understanding of the relationship between large- and small- (household-) scale water management strategies at Dhiban, as well as the extent to which karstic geomorphology was utilized during historic occupation.