PEDO-STRATIGRAPHICAL RECORDS OF AL-WU'AIRA CASTLE (PETRA, JORDAN)

Al-Wu'Ayra castle is a Crusader fortified settlement located near Petra in the southern Jordanian governorate of Ma'an. Five stratigraphic sections were excavated in the archaeological area at al-Wu'Aira to better understand the environmental conditions prevailing during the Crusader settlement and the reasons for the rapid abandonment of the site. Geopedological investigations indicate a limited evolution of the site over the last thousand years, with arenosols characterising limited stages of pedogenesis.