An old house that was revealed during the 1982 season,&  has been the focus of recent work on Quseir al-Qadim area  This area was a hill or knoll on the southern edge of the site, sitting above the silted-in Roman bay (fig. 1). This complex of stone and mudbrick-walled structures is interpreted as two adjoining houses, associated storerooms, and a passageway between them. The   two houses are on the west and south sides of the knoll, and the storerooms line up northwest to southeast along the east side (fig. 2). Each house consists primarily of one large room approximately  5.5 ≈ 4.0 m each) and two smaller rooms alongside the large room, usually 3.0 ≈ 2.5.m Each preserved a stairway to the second floor or roof, with some wooden treads extant .The storerooms were larger (ca. 4.0 ≈ 2.0–5.0 m) and each was entered off the corridor .Two Large wooden keys were hidden beneath the threshold of one of the storerooms. One key is inscribed with the name of its owner, which is possibly read as Hajj Baraka (fig. 3). The excavation of these houses provided a rich assemblage of artifacts, all well preserved due to the region’s aridity. Artifacts of wood, leather, fiber, basketry, floor matting, bundles of reeds

house, in addition  to the expected artifacts of ceramic, glass, and stone (figs. 4– 10 )The textiles were among the more spectacular finds, as in addition to many undyed pieces of linen and cotton, a few brightly colored resist-dyed pieces were found. These blue or red  natural designs are made when a resist, such as wax, is applied to the cloth in a pattern before of is dipped in dye. The resist prevents the dye from penetrating the fabric, leaving a colored pattern on a natural or white ground. They are likely of Indian origin, although some may have been locally made

The paper artifacts were also a breathtaking find, as thousands of fragments of letters, documents, and even the occasional ink drawings (fig14) were discovered all over the site, including at least 871 from the Sheikh’s House alone. These documents were found scattered among the rest of the debris that remains from the occupation and abandonment of the houses and storerooms, for the most part having been crumpled up and thrown away after they had served their purpose.   However, at least one letter was found still rolled and carefully tied with string. According to research by Li Guo of the University of Notre Dame and formerly of the University of Chicago  four of the letters bear dates that cluster within the first four decades of the thirteenth century ( A.D 1200–1240); likewise, the coins found in this area were minted in these same years of the Ayyubid period 6 with only a few coins of the previous ( Fatimid ) period and no Mamluk issues of the subsequent period (fig. 15).Thus the occupation of this house or house and storeroom complex seems to have lasted less than half a century .