Tell es-Sa'idiyeh Volume III

Excavations in the Lower Tell Cemetery

The Sa'idiyeh cemetery is crucial to our understanding of the culture-history, social organisation and demography of the Jordan Valley and wider region over time. Published findings highlight the social and cultural diversity of populations buried in the cemetery, especially given the mixture of Aegean, Anatolian, Egyptian and local Canaanite features found in Late Bronze and Iron I phases, and the possible role of Sa'idiyeh as a 20th Dynasty Egyptian outpost. The social, political and economic impact of imperial powers upon local populations, and local responses to foreign domination (e.g. Egyptian, Persian), are central themes that cross-cut the different periods represented in the Sa'idiyeh cemetery, with burial customs being a sensitive indicator of such influences. The Sa'idiyeh burials provide an opportunity for examining features such as body treatment, age and gender distinctions, wealth and status expression, and local ritual practices of Jordan Valley populations over time.