This study documents the search for settlement and abandonment processes in a highly vulnerable, but attractive, valley that was squeezed between the rising hills of Cis- and Transjordan. Throughout history this area changed in perception from a barrier to a demographic centre and back again. Especially during the period of this study - 1000 and 539 BC - the Middle Jordan Valley was a dynamic area in which many considerable population movements took place. By using newly-gathered excavation and survey data, different mechanism and motives of settling, surviving and abandoning is illuminated in this volume with the ultimate goal of reaching a regional synthesis.