BONE TOOLS FROM THE EB IIIB “PALACE OF THE COPPER AXES” AT KHIRBET AL-BATRAWY, JORDAN

The 2009-2012 seasons of excavations and restorations carried out by Rome “La Sapienza” Expedition to Palestine & Jordan at the site of Khirbet al-Batrawy, in north-central Jordan, were focused on the investigation of the huge palatial building uncovered on the northern flank of the Acropolis. The excavation of the city palace, dated to the Early Bronze IIIB and abruptly set on fire around 2300 BC, provided an impressive quantity of items in a extraordinary state of preservation. Along with the special finds retrieved in the halls and storerooms of the palace, first of all the five copper axes which gave the name to this huge building, excavations provided a large and varied assemblage of worked bones and bone tools which testify to a rich bone industry. This study will present a morphological and typological analysis conducted on the assemblage of bone tools from the “Palace of the copper axes”, in order to better understand the role of bone industry in the craftsmen activities which took place in the palace. The study of these items also contributed to a deeper and more detailed knowledge of the Early Bronze III city of Khirbet al-Batrawy, shading light on its economy and craft activities in the most prosperous period of the early urban experience.