The Hellenistic and Roman Periods at Tell Hesban, Jordan
type: CreativeWork
description: The site of Tell Hesban, 9 km north of Madaba, Jordan, was excavated by Andrews University, in cooperation with the American Schools of Oriental Research and the Department of Antiquities of Jordan (five seasons, 1968 to 1976). Evidence from the site suggests it was first occupied in Iron Age I (ca. 1200 B.C.) and continuously thereafter, except for two gaps in occupation (6th century to ca. 198 B.C., and A.D. 969 to 1200). This present research has limited itself to Tell Hesban Strata 15 through 11 (ca. 198 B.C. to A.D. 363). Research has been based primarily on the records and remains of the five seasons of excavation, but has included a search for cultural parallels from other Palestinian and Syrian sites, as well as an attempt to place Tell Hesban (Roman Esbus) in its historical setting in the periods represented by each stratum. A more complete description of culture processes must await the completion of specialist reports now in progress. Tell Hesban Stratum 15 (ca. 198 - 63 B.C.) has yielded architecture interpreted to be primarily a military post or fort, around which a dependent community gathered. Building efforts on the summit of the mound resulted in the nearly complete filling of the Stratum 16 reservoir in Area B, suggesting that the latter was already out of use, or more likely that its large water capacity was not needed by the small number of inhabitants in the fort community. Evidence for the nature of the economy, while tenuous, suggests a mixed farming strategy, which comports well with the practice in this period of establishing military/farming outposts. During the period represented by Stratum 14 (ca. 63 B.C. - A.D. 130), the overall size of the settlement seems to have grown somewhat. Apart from the continued use of the fort on the summit, no intact buildings have survived. A large number of underground (bedrock) installations were in use during Stratum 14, though later destruction or clearing and building work may have biased our sample. Th…
abstract: The site of Tell Hesban, 9 km north of Madaba, Jordan, was excavated by Andrews University, in cooperation with the American Schools of Oriental Research and the Department of Antiquities of Jordan (five seasons, 1968 to 1976). Evidence from the site suggests it was first occupied in Iron Age I (ca. 1200 B.C.) and continuously thereafter, except for two gaps in occupation (6th century to ca. 198 B.C., and A.D. 969 to 1200). This present research has limited itself to Tell Hesban Strata 15 through 11 (ca. 198 B.C. to A.D. 363). Research has been based primarily on the records and remains of the five seasons of excavation, but has included a search for cultural parallels from other Palestinian and Syrian sites, as well as an attempt to place Tell Hesban (Roman Esbus) in its historical setting in the periods represented by each stratum. A more complete description of culture processes must await the completion of specialist reports now in progress. Tell Hesban Stratum 15 (ca. 198 - 63 B.C.) has yielded architecture interpreted to be primarily a military post or fort, around which a dependent community gathered. Building efforts on the summit of the mound resulted in the nearly complete filling of the Stratum 16 reservoir in Area B, suggesting that the latter was already out of use, or more likely that its large water capacity was not needed by the small number of inhabitants in the fort community. Evidence for the nature of the economy, while tenuous, suggests a mixed farming strategy, which comports well with the practice in this period of establishing military/farming outposts. During the period represented by Stratum 14 (ca. 63 B.C. - A.D. 130), the overall size of the settlement seems to have grown somewhat. Apart from the continued use of the fort on the summit, no intact buildings have survived. A large number of underground (bedrock) installations were in use during Stratum 14, though later destruction or clearing and building work may have biased our sample. Th…
author: Mitchel, Larry A.
keywords: History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology, Near Eastern Languages and Societies
date published: 1980-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T00:54:19Z
provider: Andrews University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Andrews University