Jordan Archives - Page 36 of 37

Ataroth Temple Follow-up

The reports last week on the Iron Age temple discovered at Ataroth (Ataruz) did not include comments from the American director who has overseen work on the site for the last decade. A story in the university’s denomination’s news network gives some more information (and one photo of the temple).

“[This is] the largest and best-preserved temple from the biblical period. It will shed important light on the cultic, or religious, life of that period,” said Dr. Chang Ho Ji, chairman and professor in the Counseling and School Psychology department and a collaborating faculty in the History department of La Sierra University, a Seventh-day Adventist school in Riverside, California.
[…]
“This is an extremely important find and one that has relationships to biblical history; it is very exciting,” said Dr. Lawrence Geraty, president emeritus of the school and an archaeology professor there, in an e-mail to Adventist Review. Geraty pioneered the cooperation among several Adventist institutions, including Atlantic Union College, Canadian Union College, Andrews University, and La Sierra, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, starting in 1984 with a dig at Tall al-‘Umayri.
Jordanian Department of Antiquities (DoA) Director General Ziad Saad announced the recent discovery as the largest early Iron Age II temple in the region, dating back to between 1000 and 800 BC.
The multi-chambered temple, which includes a 20-by-20-meter courtyard, yielded over 300 cultic artifacts, leading experts to believe it was once a political and religious base for either the Moabite or the northern Israelite kingdom.

The full report is here. Previous notices on this blog can be found here and here. Joe Lauer notes a similar story in the Jordan Times.

Tagged Discoveries, Jordan

Ataroth in the Bible

Following yesterday’s post on the discovery of the Moabite temple at Ataroth, I thought it might be helpful to note the biblical significance of this site. It’s not a very well-known place, but I was
surprised just how much we know from the Bible and extrabiblical sources.

In the time of Moses, Ataroth was one of the cities requested by the tribes of Reuben and Gad following the conquest of the land of Sihon the Amorite (Num 32:3). You may recall that at first Moses was upset with this request, thinking that they were afraid to enter the Promised Land with its formidable enemies (as was the previous generation). But after some clarification, Moses granted their request and the Gadites fortified the city (Num 32:34).

The presence of the Gadites at Ataroth is confirmed in the Moabite Stone about 550 years later. King Mesha claims to have conquered the city: “Now the men of Gad had always dwelt in the land of Ataroth, and the king of Israel had built Ataroth for them; but I fought against the town and took it and slew all the people of the town as a satiation (intoxication) for Chemosh and Moab” (ANET 320).

Mesha ruled in the middle of the 9th century, so unless King Uzziah of Judah regained the land, the area around Ataroth may have remained Moabite for several centuries. Perhaps the recently discovered temple was built in the aftermath of Mesha’s conquest.

An obscure note in the genealogies of 1 Chronicles may indicate that the Gadites had moved further north by the 8th century (1 Chr 5:17).

Scholarly consensus locates biblical Ataroth at Khirbet Attarus/Ataruz. There is also a Rujm Attarus and a Jebel Attarus. Khirbet Attarus is located 8 miles (14 km) northwest of Dhiban on the west slope of Jebel Attarus. MacDonald gives a list of more than a dozen scholars who agree on this identification (“East of the Jordan,” 113).

Ataroth is east of the Dead Sea and north of the Nahal Arnon, which constituted Moab’s northern border (map from biblos.com)

MacDonald writes, “Khirbat ‘Atarus is a good example for the location of biblical Ataroth, agreeing with both biblical information and the Mesha Inscription. The preservation of the biblical name at the site and archaeological remains from the Iron Age are also evidence for this choice” (114).

MacDonald’s excellent work is available, along with other ASOR titles, in restricted pdf format from Boston University’s website. (Only viewing is allowed.)

For more on the Hadad figurine discovered in the temple, see Ferrell Jenkins’s post.

Tagged Jordan

Temple Discovered in Ataroth, Jordan

It was just another roadside stop on my quest to find and photograph every biblical site known in the country of Jordan. While most tourists, even those biblically oriented, don’t visit much more than Petra, Jerash (Gerasa), and Mount Nebo, there are dozens of other sites in Jordan mentioned in the
Old Testament. I was at one of these when my traveling partner decided he had seen enough piles of rocks and was going to wait in the car.

This site, however, was more than a pile of rocks. Recent excavations had revealed some walls, floors, and a cave. As I made a circuit around the site, I had the distinct impression that I was looking at a temple. I cannot recall now all the features that led me to this conclusion, but by the time I returned to the car I was absolutely convinced that I had “discovered” a temple at biblical Ataroth (modern Attarus or Ataroz).

Some later research revealed that excavators from LaSierra University believed they were working on an Iron Age temple. The natural question for me was whether this was a Moabite temple or an Israelite temple. I was not privy to the details, and these could be ambiguous in any case (faithless Israelites do not look very different from their neighbors). Biblically we know that this area, the Medeba Plateau, shifted hands several times between the Israelites and their cousins. Perhaps you recall Jephthah’s declaration that this land belonged to Israel for 300 years (Judges 11:26). At the time he was contesting Ammonite control, but at other times it was the Moabites who were trying to expand into the land that Israel conquered under Moses (Numbers 21:21-35).

Yesterday news of the temple discovery was published by the Associated Press (HT: Joe Lauer). The story notes that about 300 vessels and deity figurines were uncovered, most in the last few months. It also attributes the temple to the Moabites. Such a designation does not surprise me for two reasons.

First, the Moabites probably controlled this area more than the Israelites did. Second, there are political reasons for not associating ancient Israelites with the country of Jordan. But if you’re thinking that the Israelites would never have a temple outside of Jerusalem, then you haven’t read your Bible very well. The Israelites had shrines all over the place. Even Solomon built a high place to the Moabite god for his Moabite wife (1 Kings 11:7).

The AP article has only two photos about the discovery, both showing artifacts. Below are two images of the temple itself, both taken six years ago. Apparently it was the recent discovery of the figurines that led to the press conference only now announcing the temple.

Iron Age temple at Ataroth

“Holy of holies” of Iron Age temple

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Jordan, Travels

Weekend Roundup

A couple of fragments of a cuneiform tablet were found recently at the excavations of Hazor. Details released thus far are limited, but the tablet is from the Middle Bronze Age (2000-1500 BC) and has parallels to the Law Code of Hammurabi. The excavators’ notice of the discovery is online here. I have heard that the find was made on the surface, and that publication won’t take long.

Roman period tombs have been discovered in Petra with skeletal remains and ancient artifacts.

A small basalt statue dating from about 4000 BC has been found in Jordan near the border of Saudi Arabia.

Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg has written an “Archaeology in Israel Update,” including summaries of the medieval aqueduct in Jerusalem, graves in Ashkelon, MB artifacts near Jokneam, MB tombs in Nazareth, and the 18th anniversary of the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem.

New excavations begin today at Shiloh and the team is looking for volunteers (article in Hebrew).

If you prefer to “experience” excavations without getting dirty, take a look at the live video feed from Gath (during working hours only).

HT: Roi Brit

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Galilee, Jordan, Samaria, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup

Jordanian Students Learn Archaeology

Students from the International Academy Amman recently were given hands-on experience in excavating the ancient city of Gadara (cf. Matt 8:28). From the Jordan Times:

Digging in trenches in northern Jordan was far from 18-year-old Aoun Jumaa’s definition of “fun”.
But after the International Academy Amman (IAA) student spent the past week excavating at Um Qais as part of his school’s community action and service programme, he said he has gained appreciation of the Kingdom’s “exciting” archaeology.
“I have been to Um Qais, but I have never seen it like this before,” he said.
The programme offers students the unique opportunity to explore their past and open up avenues for their futures.
The 20-odd students quickly learned that an archaeologist’s day is by no means an easy one. Starting at dawn, the students were in the trenches digging, cleaning and shovelling all morning, and after a short lunch break, they sorted and washed pottery shards and attended evening sessions on pottery identification and cultural interpretation.
Meanwhile, they devoted their evening hours to research projects, interpreting their finds and writing down their analysis, according to IAA teacher and programme coordinator Andy Daily.

The full article is here.

HT: Joe Lauer

Gadara nymphaeum with Sea of Galilee in distance

Tagged Excavations, Jordan

Thursday Roundup

Dr. Zvi Greenhut, Deputy Director of Survey & Excavations, Israel Antiquities Authority is interviewed on Arutz-7 Radio about his excavations of Moza (Emmaus?). A summary of his Iron Age finds is given at the IAA website.

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas has purchased three fragments of Dead Sea Scrolls, with verses from Exodus, Leviticus, and Daniel.

The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel lists 93 threats to open spaces in their annual report, with the largest number falling in the north.

Richard Jones of Lee University will give a lecture entitled “Biblical Archaeology on the Karak Plateau, Jordan” on Jan. 23 at 10:30 at the Museum Center at Five Points in Cleveland, Tennessee.

Professor Emeritus Abraham Malamat of the Hebrew University passed away today at the age of 87.

HT: Joe Lauer and the Yehuda Group

Tagged Excavations, Jordan, Lectures, Weekend Roundup