Dates of Excavation: 21 June-2 August 2000 (full season)
1st Half Season: 21 June-16 July, 2000
2nd Half Season: 13 July-2 August, 2000
Description of Excavation
According to a list of cities from the reign of the Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III, the biblical name for Tall al-`Umayri was probably Abel Keramim, mentioned in Judges 11:33 (a scarab-seal impression with Thutmose's name was found by the excavations in 1987). During the biblical period the Ammonites apparently controlled the city, making it an administrative center near their southern border with the Moabites. A seal impression, found by the team in 1984, mentions a prominent official of the Ammonite government who served King Baalis in the time of the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 40:14).
The administrative sector of the city from which this official served may have been found in our excavations at Fields A and H, the "Ammonite Administrative Center" on the western edge of the acropolis. The center was constructed of walls over a meter thick with deep foundations which destroyed earlier Iron I layers (from the time of the biblical judges, ca. 1200-1000 B.C.E.). A sizable complex of buildings from about 550 B.C.E. administered scores of rural sites that were dedicated to wine production in the hills around Tall al-`Umayri. The largest room of the administrative center had three levels of plastered floors and likely served as an open courtyard. An unusual find, ceramic pieces of a human statue, were located in this complex.
The Iron I remains in Field A have only recently become apparent with the excavation in 1998 of several walls, surfaces and rooms (including a well preserved pillared room) dating from this period. The destruction debris of the Iron I town was made up of burned bricks and roofing materials such as wooden beams and reeds. It appears to have been a military invasion to judge by the many bronze weapons found in the debris. One of the stone-pillared rooms was filled with almost two meters of ash. Related to these finds was the thick town wall made of large stones. The wall was plastered in antiquity and, as uncovered by the excavators, stood three to four meters above the ground. It likely stood several meters higher in ancient times.
Among the most impressive discoveries from the 1998 season are the remains of a Middle Bronze Age building made with large stones. Also from that period are the foundations of a tower perched atop a massive earthen rampart that raised the height of the hill to over five meters. Associated with this tower was a well-plastered water pool, unique from this time in Jordan. There was also evidence for a large building made of massive stones inside the fortification system.
Just to the north of these ruins is a two-room Late Bronze Age building. There were two levels of floors to the structure, each floor covered with a thick layer of burned bricks and wood. Although not fully excavated, they now stand over three meters tall.
On the northern slope of the tall, where there seems to have been a large suburb, a few patch walls from the Middle Bronze Age (the time of the patriarchs ca. 2000-1550 B.C.E.) were uncovered (Field C). Imported items from as far away as Egypt and Turkey illustrate the large-scale network of trade to which the city belonged.
No city in this part of the world could operate without water. Field E was thus located at the water source near the foot of the northern slope where remains of structures associated with a well or spring are still visible. Here our excavation team uncovered walls and plaster floors from Iron II, Roman, and Byzantine times. The promise of Bronze Age levels was also suggested by a number of finds.
In Field F, at the eastern edge of the acropolis, the debate concerning the location of a city gate continues. The burial of an adult male, about 35 years old, who had been killed by a javelin in the groin was found here. Excavators have uncovered Byzantine, Iron II, and Iron I remains along with some from the Late Bronze Age.
Field L, just opened in 1998, rests along the southern edge of the acropolis of the tall, approximately half way along this side. Excavations suggest a minor settlement here during the Hellenistic period when residents constructed a small farmstead atop much more substantial ruins from the Iron Age II. This small farm may have produced wine on the surrounding hillsides, as well as grain crops in the valley bottoms.
Periods of Excavation: Iron and Bronze
Directors: Warren Trenchard, La Sierra University (Admin. Director); Larry G. Herr, Canadian University College (Co-Field Director); Douglas R. Clark, Walla Walla College (Co-Field Director)
Contact People: Warren Trenchard, Madaba Plains Project, La Sierra University, 4700 Pierce Street, Riverside, CA 92525 USA
Phone: (909) 785-2119
FAX: (909) 785-2199
E-mail: wtrencha@lasierra.edu
Douglas R. Clark, Madaba Plains Project-'Umayri, Walla Walla College, College Place, WA 99324 USA
Phone: (509) 527-2456
FAX: (509) 527-2253
E-mail: clardo@wwc.edu
Information and application available online at: http://www.wwc.edu/academics/departments/theology/mpp
Accepting students/volunteers? Yes
Cost: $1795 for full six weeks ($1650 for students from consortium schools)
$1150 for three weeks ($1050 for students from consortium schools)
(covers room, board, textbook, mid-season trip)
Participants responsible for airfare (ca. $1,200) and spending money.
Academic credit available? There is undergraduate and graduate credit available only through Madaba Plains Project consortium institutions.
Application deadline: 15 March 2000 for Security Form (NO EXCEPTIONS)