Tall el-Hammam

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Tell el-Hammam
Tall al-Hammam
Tall el-Hammam is located in Jordan
Tall el-Hammam
Shown within Jordan
LocationJordan
RegionAmman Governorate
Coordinates31°50′25″N 35°40′25″E / 31.8402°N 35.6737°E / 31.8402; 35.6737
History
CulturesChalcolithic, Early Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age, Late Bronze Age, Roman Age, Byzantine, Umayyad
Tell el-Hammam overlooking the Jordan Valley (2007)

Tell el-Hammam (also Tall al-Hammam) is an archaeological site in Jordan, in the eastern part of the lower Jordan Valley close to the mouth of the Jordan River. The site has substantial remains from the Chalcolithic, Early, Intermediate and Middle Bronze Age, and from Iron Age II. There are different attempts at identifying the site with a biblical city.

Possible identifications in different periods[]

  • 1st century CE – Livias (Latin: Liviada Herod Agrippa 4 BCE).[1] The traditional location of the Roman city of Livias is identified at the small Tell er-Rameh,[2] although William F. Albright identified Livias/Bethharam with Tall Iktanu, [3] 2.75 km (1.71 mi) ESE of Tell er-Rameh. Recent excavation at Tall el-Hamman have led to the theory that Tell er-Rameh nearby was the commercial and residential centre of Livias, while the administrative centre was located at Tall el-Hammam.[4] In the Roman, Byzantine, and Umayyad periods (165 BC–AD 750) the site was part of the city of Livias/Julias, an important city in Perea rebuilt by Herod Antipas.[5]
  • Byzantine Period – Livias. In 384 CE, the Spanish pilgrim Egeria (Etheria or Aetheria) testified that a presbyter (elder/bishop) had a house in Livias.[6] According to Le Quien[7] Livias was still a see in the 5th and early 6th century. The Byzantine administrative records, list three Bishops from Livias: Letoius, who was at the council of Ephesus in 431 CE;[8] Pancratius, who was at the council of Chalcedon in 451 CE; and Zacharias who attended the council in Jerusalem in 536 CE.[9] Theoteknos, the first theologian to articulate the doctrine of the Assumption of Mary,[10] was the most famous bishop of Livias, officiating sometime between 550 and 650 CE.

Starting with the publication of his book Discovering the city of Sodom in 2013 and after fifteen years of excavations of the upper and lower tall, Collins has argued that Tall el-Hammam is the site of the biblical city of Sodom.[11] According to Eugene H. Merrill, himself a Biblical inerrantist, the identification of Tall al-Hammam with Sodom would require an unacceptable restructuring of his early biblical chronology.[12][13][14]

Archaeological work[]

Early surveys[]

A survey was done in 1975–1976, which found some Middle Bronze Age pottery.[15]

In 1990, Kay Prag conducted a survey and some soundings.[16][11]

Excavation since 2005[]

Since 2005, the site has been excavated by a joint project of the unaccredited Trinity Southwest University (Albuquerque, New Mexico), the Creationist accredited Veritas International University's College of Archaeology & Biblical History (Santa Ana, California), headed by Steven Collins.[17][18][dubious – discuss]

Periods of settlement[]

The site was occupied in the Chalcolithic (c. 4300–3600 BCE), Early Bronze Age (c. 3600–2500 BCE), Intermediate Bronze Age (2500–1950 BCE), Middle Bronze Age (c. 1950–1550 BCE), Iron Age 2–3 (c. 980–332 BCE) [19] and Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Umayyad periods (163 BCE–750 CE).[20] Like most sites in the Jordan Valley, it was vacant in the Late Bronze Age (c. 1550–1200 BCE). Only some Late Bronze pottery was discovered in a tomb,[21] and a single freestanding LB2a structure in Field UA on the upper tall.[22] The "Late Bronze Gap" (first named by Flanagan at Tall Nimrin) of c. 550 years is not unique to Tall al-Hammam but characteristic of many of the sites in the Jordan valley (Hebrew kikkār) region, including Tall Iktanu, Tall Kefrein (al-Kefrayn), Tall Nimrin,[23] Tall el-Musṭāḥ, Tall Bleibel (Bulaybil), etc.[24] The most substantial findings are from the Early Bronze Age, Intermediate Bronze Age, and Middle Bronze Age.[25]

Middle Bronze Age city[]

During the Middle Bronze Age, the city was protected by walls enclosing an area of 85 acres (34 ha) and was divided into an upper and lower city, while the much larger general occupational area around the walled city covered 240 acres (97 ha).[26][27] In the Early Bronze Age, Tall el-Hammam was the largest city state in the southern Levant[28] and by the Middle Bronze Age it was only smaller than Hazor (200 acres (81 ha)) and Ashkelon (150 acres (61 ha)). At this time Jerusalem and Jericho were only 12–10 acres (4.9–4.0 ha) respectively.[29]

Early Roman, Byzantine and Early Islamic[]

Early Roman, Byzantine and Early Islamic remains have been excavated between 2005 and 2014. The discoveries included a large Roman bath complex (thermae, 34.2 m × 40.6 m (112 ft × 133 ft)), aqueduct (165 m (541 ft) exposed), two defensive towers, coins, glass, and Roman, Byzantine and early Islamic pottery.[30]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Dina Frangié-Joly, "Umm Hadar: A Fort in the Jordan Valley (Historical and Archaeological Research), Trade Routes and Seafaring in the Near East (2011)," Aram 27, no. 1 & 2 (2015): 105–23. see 107, 109 n.17
  2. ^ Morris Jastrow and Frants Buhl, "Beth–Aram," in Jewish Encyclopedia (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1906), 119; Siméon Vailhé, "Livias," in Catholic Encyclopedia, ed. Charles George Herbermann, trans. Mario Anello, vol. 9, 16 vols. (New York: Appleton & Company, 1913), 9:315; Nelson Glueck, "Some Ancient Towns in the Plains of Moab," Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 91 (1943): 7–26, see 11; Donner and Clippers 1967, 22; Kay Prag, "A Walk in the Wadi Hesban," Palestine Exploration Quarterly 123, no. 1 (1991): 48–61. see 60- 61; Herbert Donner, The Mosaic Map of Madaba. An Introductory Guide, Palaestina Antiqua 7 (Kampen: Kok Pharos, 1992), 39; Estee Dvorjetski, Leisure, Pleasure, and Healing: Spa Culture and Medicine in Ancient Eastern Mediterranean, JSJSup 116 (Leiden: Brill, 2007), 202; Fig. 2).
  3. ^ William F. Albright, "The Jordan Valley in the Bronze Age,* Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research 6 (1926): 13–74. see 49
  4. ^ David E. Graves and D. Scott Stripling, "Re-Examination of the Location for the Ancient City of Livias," Levant 43, no. 2 (2011): 178–200
  5. ^ Josephus Antiquities 20.29; Jewish War 2.168; 2.252; see also Theodosius Top. 19.1; Harold W. Hoehner, Herod Antipas: A Contemporary of Jesus Christ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 1980).87-91
  6. ^ John Wilkinson, ed., Egeria's Travels: Translated with Supporting Documents and Notes, trans. John Wilkinson, 3rd ed. (Warminster: Aris & Phillips, 1999)10.8
  7. ^ Michel Le Quien, Oriens christianus in quatuor patriarchatus digestus, in quo exhibentur Ecclesiae patriarchae caeterique praesules totius Orientis (Paris: Typographia Regia, 1740), 3:655
  8. ^ Egeria, Diary of a Pilgrimage, ed. and trans. George E. Gingras (Mahwah, NJ: Newman, 1970), 189 n. 135
  9. ^ Emil Schürer, The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (175 BCE – 135 CE), ed. G. Vermes, F. Miller, and M. Black, Rev (Edinburgh, UK: T&T Clark, 1979), 2:177 n.505.
  10. ^ Antoine Wenger, L'Assomption de la T.S. Vierge dans la tradition byzantine du VIe au Xe siècle. études e documents, Archives de l'Orient Chrétien 5 (Paris: Institut français d'études byzantines, 1955)
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b Collins, Steven; Scott, Latayne C. (2013). Discovering the City of Sodom: The Fascinating, True Account of the Discovery of the Old Testament's Most Infamous City. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4516-8438-4. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  12. ^ Merrill, Eugene H. "Texts, Talls, and Old Testament Chronology: Tall Hammam as a Case Study." Artifax 27, no. 4 (2012): 20–21.
  13. ^ Bolen, Todd (2013-02-27). "Arguments Against Locating Sodom at Tall el-Hammam". Biblical Archaeology Society. Retrieved July 3, 2013.
  14. ^ Contra Collins, Steven. Tall el-Hammam Is Still Sodom: Critical Data-Sets Cast Serious Doubt on E. H. Merrill's Chronological Analysis" (PDF) Archived 2013-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, Biblical Research Bulletin 13, no. 1 (2013): 1–31.
  15. ^ Collins & Scott (2013), p. 96
  16. ^ Prag, Kay (1991). "Preliminary Report on the Excavations at Tell Iktanu and Tell al-Hammam, Jordan, 1990". Levant. 23 (23:1): 55–66. doi:10.1179/lev.1991.23.1.55. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  17. ^ [1]Steven Collins, Khalil Hamdan, and Gary A. Byers, "Tall al-Ḥammām: preliminary report on four seasons of excavation (2006–2009)", Annual of the Department of Antiquities, vol. 53, pp. 385–414, 2009
  18. ^ [2]Steven Collins, and H. al-Jarrah, "Tall al-Hammam season six, 2011: excavation, survey, interpretations and insights.", Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, vol. 55, pp. 581–606, 2011
  19. ^ Steven Collins, Carroll M. Kobs, and Michael C. Luddeni, An Introduction to Tall Al-Hammam with Seven Seasons (2005–2011) of Ceramics and Eight Seasons (2005–2012) of Artifacts, vol. 1 (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2015) ISBN 978-1575063690.
  20. ^ Collins, Steven; Hussein, Aljarrah; Byers, Gary A.; Kobs, Carroll M.; Leslie, John; abu-Shmais, Adeib; Haroun, Jehad (2011). "Tall Al-Hammam Season Six, 2011: Excavation, Survey, Interpretations and Insights". Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan. 55: 581.
  21. ^ Collins, Steven; Hussein, Aljarrah; Byers, Gary A.; Kobs, Carroll M.; Leslie, John; abu-Shmais, Adeib; Haroun, Jehad (2011). "Tall Al-Hammam Season Six, 2011: Excavation, Survey, Interpretations and Insights". Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan. 55: 597.
  22. ^ Steven Collins et al., "Tall El-Hammam Season Ten, 2015: Excavation, Survey, Interpretations And Insights," Biblical Research Bulletin 15, no. 1 (2015): 1–37, see 29.
  23. ^ Flanagan, James W.; McCreery, David W.; Yassine, Khair N. (1994). "Tell Nimrin: Preliminary Report on the 1993 Season". Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan. 38: 207.
  24. ^ Steven Collins, Khalil Hamdan, and Gary A. Byers, "Tall El-Hammam: Preliminary Report on Four Seasons of Excavation (2006–2009)," Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 53 (2009): 385–414
  25. ^ Banks, Rebecca (26 January 2017). "Endangered Archaeology as captured with the Aerial Archaeology in Jordan Project: September 2016 Season: Tell el-Hammam". Oxford: Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East & North Africa (EAMENA) – University of Oxford. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  26. ^ Holden, Joseph M.; Geisler, Norman (2013). The Popular Handbook of Archaeology and the Bible. Harvest House Publishers. p. 216. ISBN 978-0-7369-4485-4. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  27. ^ Collins & Scott (2013), p. 157
  28. ^ Leen Ritmeyer "Chart of showing relative sizes of major cities in the Levant" Steven Collins, Carroll M. Kobs, and Michael C. Luddeni, The Tall Al-Hammam Excavations: An Introduction to Tall al-Hammam with Seven Seasons (2005–2011) of Ceramics and Eight Seasons (2005–2012) of Artifacts, vol. 1 (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2015). p. 41
  29. ^ Leen Ritmeyer "Chart of showing relative sizes of major cities in the Levant" Steven Collins, Carroll M. Kobs, and Michael C. Luddeni, The Tall Al-Hammam Excavations: An Introduction to Tall al-Hammam with Seven Seasons (2005–2011) of Ceramics and Eight Seasons (2005–2012) of Artifacts, vol. 1 (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2015). p. 173,174
  30. ^ Graves, David E.; Stripling, Scott (2011). "Re-Examination of the Location for the Ancient City of Livias". Levant. 43 (2): 178–200. doi:10.1179/175638011X13112549593122. S2CID 162399714.

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