Tell Abu al-Kharaz

Coordinates: 32°23′56.34″N 35°35′42.38″E / 32.3989833°N 35.5951056°E / 32.3989833; 35.5951056
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

32°23′56.34″N 35°35′42.38″E / 32.3989833°N 35.5951056°E / 32.3989833; 35.5951056

Tell Abu Al-Kharaz
تل أبو الخرز
Arabic: تل أبو الخرز, lit. 'Mound of the Father of Beads') is an archeological tell in the Irbid Governorate of modern-day Jordan. Tell Abu al-Kharaz was the site of a fortified town during the Bronze and Iron Ages; it is located in the Jordan Valley, 4 kilometers east of the Jordan River.[1]

Location

Tell Abu al-Kharaz is situated on a strategic point, approximately one kilometer north to where the perennial stream of Wadi al-Yabis enters the Jordan Valley. It lies in a region known in biblical times as Gilead.[1]

The site is located 35 km from the

Beit Shean
to the Mediterranean.

The tell is about 60 meters high (116 meters below sea level) and covers an area of 300 x 400 meters. It was excavated between 1989 and 2001 by the Swedish Jordan Expedition under the direction of Peter M. Fischer.

Chronology

The settlement mound was inhabited from the Chalcolithic until the Islamic period.[2] A number of fortified towns from the Early Bronze Age (EBA I, II), the end of the Middle Bronze Age, Late Bronze Age (I, II), and Iron Age (I, II) were excavated at the site.[3] The site is believed to have been abandoned for over a thousand years – between the Early Bronze Age (EBA II) and the late Middle Bronze Age (from approximately 2900 to 1650 BCE).[2]

Archaeological evidence demonstrates that the oldest town from the Early Bronze Age around 3000 BCE was the largest.[2]

Finds

Bronze Age

Imported pottery was found at the Phase 1 of the mound, which is dated to the Early Bronze Age. These items have been identified as cylindrical jars, and mace heads coming from Predynastic Egypt (Naqada IIIB). Up to now, these finds represent the furthest northern spread of such Egyptian imports of this early period.

Since the Middle Bronze Age (MB IIC, c. 1600 BCE), local Jordan valley type pottery, and Cypriot-type pottery were predominant in Tell Abu al-Kharaz. Egyptian imports were almost completely missing. Cypriot imports were also found at the site (White Slip I and White Slip II wares).

This type of Chocolate-on-white ware is commonly found at the site

A large amount of Chocolate-on-white ware was found at Tell Abu al-Kharaz. This type of pottery was most likely produced locally on-site, but it is also present at several other sites in the Jordan Valley and nearby areas. There is no confirmed find of such pottery on Cyprus or in the Aegean.[4]

Iron Age

A large agricultural compound dating from Iron Age I was unearthed in Tell Abu al-Kharaz. Botanical remains discovered at the compound include

four-room houses, an iron workshop, bone handles decorated with sphinxes, and an ostracon bearing inscription in Hebrew or related Transjordanian dialects.[1]

The Iron Age settlement was destroyed around 700 BCE, probably by the Neo-Assyrian Empire.[1]

Biblical identification

Jabesh-Gilead,[6][7] although this identification is not widely accepted. Many scholars have preferred to identify Jabesh with Tell el-Maqlub, located further to the east on Wadi al-Yabis.[8][9][10][11][12]

Noth and Ottosson identified Tell Abu al-Kharaz with Abel-meholah.[13][14]

Notes

  1. ^
    S2CID 167145910
    .
  2. ^ a b c The Economy of the Ancient Societies of Tell Abu al-Kharaz. Swedish Archaeology in Jordan, Palestine and Cyprus. Peter Fischer
  3. ^ "Tell Abu al-Kharaz | Swedish Archaeology in Jordan, Palestine and Cyprus, Peter Fischer". Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  4. ^ The investigation of Chocolate-on-White Ware. Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften site. P.M. Fischer
  5. JSTOR 26664994
    .
  6. ISBN 978-1-62837-125-3
    . Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  7. JSTOR 26732491
    .
  8. ^ Merrill, S (1883) [1881]. East of the Jordan: a record of travel and observation in the countries of Moab, Gilead, and Bashan. R. Bentley. New York: Scribner's. p. 440.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. ^ Noth, M. (1953). "Jabesh-gilead: Ein Beitrag zur Methode alttestamentischer Topographie". Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins: 28–41.
  10. ^ Simons, J (1959). The Geographical and Topographical Texts of the Old Testament: A Concise Commentary in XXXII Chapters. Leiden: Brill. p. 315.
  11. ^ Aharoni, Y. (1979). Rainey, A.F. (ed.). The Land of the Bible: A Historical Geography (2 ed.). London: Burns & Oates. pp. 379, 437.
  12. OCLC 1101929531.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )
  13. ^ Ottosson, M. (1969). Gilead: Tradition and History (in Swedish). Translated by Gray, J. Lund: Gleerup. p. 217.
  14. ^ Noth, M. (1959). "Gilead und Gad". Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins. 69: 60.

This article is based on the article in German Wikipedia.

Bibliography

  • Peter M. Fischer: Tell Abu al-Kharaz in the Jordan Valley. Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien 2006 ff.
  1. The Early Bronze Age. 2008,
    ISBN 978-3-7001-3880-8
    .
  2. The Middle and Late Bronze Ages. 2006,
    ISBN 978-3-7001-3868-6
    .

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tell_Abu_al-Kharaz&oldid=1159948132"