Shkarat Msaied Neolithic Project

The Danish excavations at Neolithic Shkarat Msaied, Southern Jordan. The site which is located approx. 16km north of Wadi Musa/Petra is under excavation since 1999.

This homepage provides access to the project's database, a substantial set of media files (photos, maps, illustrations) stemming from all field seasons, summaries of research results, links to most publications, and information on latest activities. The content of this page is regularly maintained and updated. 

The name of the site was transcibt in various ways through the time. Here a (incomplete) list of known variations: Eshkaret Emsa’ad: Palmer 1871; Shaqaret M’siad: Kirkbride 1966; Šaqarat Masiyād: Gebel 1984; Šaqqārat Muşa’id: Gebel 1986; Šaqarat Maş’ad: Gebel 1986; Shaqarat Musai’id: Gebel 1988; Sqart Mesei’id/ esh-Karat Umm Sa’id: Lindner & Genz 2000; Shaqarat Mazyad: Kaliszan et al. 2001; Shaqarat Mas'ad: Lindner 2003; Shkārat Msaied: Kinzel 2005, Hermansen et al. 2006; Shakārat al-Musay’id: Jensen et al. 2005(modified by the DoA). With the kind assistance of our representative of the 2004 season Mr. Hani Falahat, inspector of the Department of Antiquities, Ma´an region, we agreed upon the transcription of the name as it is used here:  شکارۃ مسیعد /Shkārat Msaied. The meaning of the site name is a small plot of land assigned to a poor man (called Said) by the local land owner.

The project has been realised with the support and co-operation of:
The Department of Antiquities in Jordan
(Petra Archaeological Park and Cultural Heritage)
(Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority)
Carlsberg Foundation (2003-2005)
Danish Institute in Damascus (2014-2018)
Danish Palestine Foundation (2015, 2016)
Danish Ministry of Education and Research (2017-2020)