The desert and sown project, which started in 1999 and continued in 2008-2009, studied the region between the settled areas east of Irbid and Ramtha and the surrounding desert at Mafraq (northern Jordan). Large parts of the material comes from the Palaeolithic period, while some smaller tells date from the Iron Age and the Late-Antique/Islamic period. The larger part of the region has been surveyed with a low density technique, while Hawsha, Tell Khanasry, and Tell Rumeith have been researched with an intensive survey.