17. ‘Ain Amūn | عين آمون

SSE of Petra, Ma‘ān Governorate

Al-Bawwāt / Maqām Foqāra’a
JADIS no. 199 6021
MEGA no. 8973
Coordinates: 30° 18’ 05” N 35° 27’ 48” E
30.301389, 35.463333

Plan: rectangular with door in the N wall, no roofing. In the center, there are two graves marked by heaped stones in the enclosure, and other graves scattered outside.

Measurements: unknown.

Exterior: unknown.

Interior: unknown.

Building Materials: coarsely cut limestones.

Construction details: masonry in horizontal layers without use of mortar.

Preservation: a burial place of the tribe and in the same time a pilgrimage site for healing disease, ruined.

Inscription(s): none known.

Date(s): no date known, but probably going back to an ancient medical cult place for healing diseases.

Traveler Reports: “The‘Awlia buried at the sanctuary of el-Fuqāra at Ein Amūn are also called el-Bauwat” (Canaan 1930, 179). “The females of the Layāthneh gather themselves normally in a place. Bread was made, oil, fat, white cloths and incense were taken. As soon as they approached the place, the cloths were cut into small fragments, dipped inside the oil and then lighted and then they start supplication of the things that they require” (narrative by Umm Hani in 2002, recorded by Salameen - Falahat 2009). The procedure of healing diseases reported by Salameen and Falahat on the basis of dream interpretation (oneiromantia or oneirocrisia) was widely spread in the Greco-Roman world in the popular cults of Asclepius and other healing heroes. In northern Jordan, the oneirocritic practice is attested for the hot spring baths at ancient Ammatha (Ḥammat Gadēr) on the northern territories of Gadara / Umm Qēs (Weber 2002, 268 SQ 37). The holiness of the present sanctuary is emphasized by the fact that it topographically faces the important shrine of Ḥārūn (fig. 17.1). The visit of this maqām Foqāra’a substituted the visit of Jabal Ḥārūn for those who were physically not able to do this arduous pilgrimage.

Bibliography: Arabia Petraea III, 330; Canaan 1930, 179; Salameen - Falahat 2009,189; Miettunen 2013, 100-101 no. 7; 206 fig. 8.