Gerasa
The quarryscapes of Gerasa (Jarash),
Jordan
The quarry landscapes of Jarash offer an important opportunity to understand ancient Gerasa in its natural environment as well as its building materials. A number of quarry sites have been documented in the Jarash area as part of the QuarryScapes project, including four major locations at Asfur, Al Shawahid, Wadi Suf and Majar. The quarries were used to extract building stone from the Upper Cretaceous Naur, Fuheis and Wadi As Sir Formations of the Ajloun Group. The limestone from the quarries is easily correlated with most building stone used for the construction of Gerasa using petrographical analysis. The quarry sites include intriguing evidence of the extraction techniques.
Tool marks, evidence of chiselling, dressing and extraction planning, as well as unfinished blocks and columns, are commonly seen at the quarries. These quarry sites should be considered to be integral
parts of Gerasa as cultural heritage sites that can give visitors a chance to better appreciate the site
in its natural setting, at a distance from the modern city of Jarash. Unfortunately, urban expansion
poses a threat to these sites and endangers their existence and undermines their protection. The
situation is exacerbated by inadequate legislation and lack of an effective conservation strategy.
