The ancient incense and spice route linked the Mediterranean world with goods from the East and from Africa, including myrrh, frankincense, silk, gold, silver, and rare woods.

 One major caravan station along this route was Bir Madhkur, which connected Petra in southern Jordan with the Mediterranean port of Gaza. All of these sites help reveal how the harsh desert landscape was settled for trade and cultivated for agriculture.

Archaeologist Andrew M. Smith II tells the story of the site of Bir Madhkur, which flourished from about the 1st century B.C. (under the Nabataeans) to the Byzantine period. Smith’s team has uncovered a Late Roman/Byzantine army fort, houses, a bath complex, and other structures.

 Other sites in the Wadi Araba region include more caravan stations, farmhouses, and nomadic encampments. All bear witness to an extraordinary time of cross-cultural expansion and commerce.

Smith is an assistant professor in the department of classical and Semitic languages and literatures at George Washington University.