Tall el-Hammam Excavation Project
A JOINT SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOR OF THE College of Archaeology, Trinity Southwest University AND THE Department of Antiquities of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Welcome to the official website of the Tall el-Hammam Excavation Project (TeHEP). TeHEP is a joint scientific project between Trinity Southwest University's College of Archaeology & Biblical History (Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA) and the Department of Antiquitie
s
of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Our website is designed to be
enjoyed by all those interested in archaeology, whether casually or
professionally.
The site of Tall el-Hammam is located in the southern Jordan River
Valley, about 14 kilometers northeast of the Dead Sea. Surveys and
excavations thus far have revealed a long occupational history at Tall
el-Hammam, including the Chalcolithic Period, the Early, Intermediate,
and Middle Bronze Ages, and Iron Age 2. Minor Hellenistic, Roman,
Byzantine and Islamic occupations are also in evidence.
Architecturally, the major contributors to the enormity of the
site—spreading approximately one square kilometer—are the cities of the
Early Bronze Age (3500-2350 BCE), Intermediate Bronze Age (2350-2000 BCE), and Middle Bronze Age (2000-1550
BCE). The massive 6-meter-thick EBA city wall rings the lower and upper
talls to an elliptical diameter of 500x750 meters. The
same fortifications were refurbished and re-used during the IBA, and
were later swallowed up by the construction of massive MB2
fortifications up to 50 meters thick, including the city wall, outer
rampart/glacis with multiple (interior) stone stabilizer walls, and
monumental gateway complex.
The MBA fortifications also include mudbrick and packed-earth ramparts
rising above the lower city to a height of 20 to 30 meters, contributing
to the 450x300-meter elongated oval footprint of the upper tall, and
creating its 35-degree slope. The upper tall is topped by ruins from
Iron Age 2abc, which are surrounded by a 3-meter-thick city wall, with
a chambered gateway flanked by monumental towers.
By all comparisons, Tall el-Hammam must be considered the “Queen of the
Southern Jordan Valley,” and her excavation will continue to shed
important light on the history of the region for decades to come.
Posts
Stumble It!
No comments:
Post a Comment