Photo: Susanne Kerner, University of Copenhagen
Between the Copper and Bronze Ages, communities across the Middle East underwent a period of deep upheaval — old social systems collapsed while new ones began to form, reports ScienceAlert. Archaeologists have been exploring this transition through the site of Murayghat, located near the modern city of Madaba in Jordan, which dates back roughly 5,500 years.
While the Chalcolithic (Copper Age) culture is thought to have declined due to a drier climate combined with social pressures, Murayghat stands out among other settlements of the time. According to archaeologist Susanne Kerner of the University of Copenhagen, the site appears to have served as a place for ceremonial gatherings rather than everyday habitation.
“Our excavations at Early Bronze Age Murayghat show clusters of dolmens, standing stones, and large megalithic structures, suggesting ritual assemblies and collective burials rather than domestic spaces,” Kerner explained. The study, published in Levant: The Journal of the Council for British Research in the Levant, documented remains of over 95 dolmens — stone tombs made of two vertical slabs and a horizontal capstone. More than 70 have been studied in detail, all dated to the Early Bronze Age. Though no human remains were found, similarities with nearby sites indicate a ritual purpose.
At the top of the hill, archaeologists uncovered stone enclosures and a carved rock surface, further evidence of ceremonial use. Notably absent were traces of everyday life — no hearths or storage structures. The architecture combines different building styles, which Kerner believes suggests groups from various regions gathered here, bringing their own traditions.
Artifacts reinforce this idea: researchers discovered large communal bowls and vessels likely used for feasts or ceremonies. The transition from the Copper to Bronze Age in the Levant coincided with a climatic shift toward aridity, which disrupted settled life but didn’t erase human presence. Communities sought new ways to adapt and reconnect amid uncertainty.
“They had to find mechanisms to cope when old social models no longer worked,” said Kerner. “They were rethinking life and death in a society with weak hierarchies.”
Although many details of Murayghat’s transformation remain unknown — and may never be fully understood — Kerner believes the site offers a window into how early societies responded to instability: by constructing monuments, redefining social roles, and building new forms of communal identity.
