Experimental Reconstructions

Overview

At the northeastern corner of the settlement an experimental reconstruction of a PPNB structure may be seen. Modeled after Building 49, located at the southern tip of the settlement, it would thus have been typical of the circular architecture of Phase A. According to the researchers, the purpose of the reconstruction is to test the interpretations of the archaeological data and to provide a means of making the research accessible to the general public. The foundation of the model here is approximately 5 meters in diameter, and like its historical counterparts does not form a perfect circle. Its walls are about 1.2 meters high and about a half-meter thick, doubling when shared with an adjacent building. The lower walls are constructed mostly from large limestone cobbles collected from the nearby wadi.