Across the Jordan

Gottlieb Schumacher (1857-1925) was an American-born German civil engineer, architect and archaeologist who was influential in the early archaeological explorations of Palestine. His parents were members of the Temple Association, a Protestant group who emigrated to Haifa in 1869. After studying engineering in Stuttgart between 1876 and 1881, Schumacher returned to Haifa and assumed a leading role in surveying and construction in the region. First published in 1886 for the Palestine Exploration Fund, this volume contains the results of the first survey of the Haurân region conducted by Schumacher in preparation for the construction of the Damascus-Haifa railway. Considered one of Schumacher's most important surveys, it describes the archaeological remains, geology and contemporary villages of this region in great detail. Accounts of this area by the British traveller Laurence Oliphant (1829-1888) and the scholar Guy Le Strange (1854-1933) are also included in this volume.