Qasr Kharaneh

This imposing structure found about 65 km east of Amman and 18 km west of Qusayr Amra.

The spot marked by an assortment of tall radio pylons on the other side of the highway. Kharaneh is one of the best-preserved Umayyad monuments in the Jordanian steppe. It consists of 61 rooms arranged into two levels surrounded by a porticoes central courtyard. These rooms grouped as self-contained units (bayts), each consisting of a central hall flanked on two sides by a pair of rooms opening on to the central hall.
A 3-quarter round buttress supports each of the four corners, and two quarter-round towers line the entrance in the middle of the south side, whereas half-round buttresses occupy the middle of the 3 remaining sides.

The exterior walls pierced by narrow openings for lighting and ventilation, not arrow slits as sometimes described. On either side of the passageway that leads to the central court, is a long room, which served as a stable and storeroom. Originally, a small water tank stood in the middle of the courtyard to collect rainwater from the rooftops. Extra water taken from seep-holes dug in the alongside valley-bed.

The construction and architectural technique betray Sassanian influences, such as the use of squinches and shallow vaults resting on transverse arches, also carved stucco decorations.

Qasr Kharaneh remains an enigma to archaeologists and historians. Some experts believe that it was a defensive fort, while others argue it was a caravanserais for passing camel trains. Yet another theory is that it served as a retreat for Umayyad leaders to discuss affairs of state. With it's high walls, arrow slits, four corner towers and square shape of a Roman fortress, Qasr Kharaneh would be a defensive castle. However, the towers are not large enough to have been an effective defense, and may have instead built to buttress the walls.

The arrow slits are also cosmetic, being too narrow on the inside to allow archers enough visibility and too few for effective military use. We do know that an inscription in a second-story room dates build Qasr Kharaneh to 711 CE. The presence of Greek inscriptions around the main entrance frame suggests the castle built on the site of a Roman or Byzantine building.