Bab edh-Dhra
EB I–IV walled town (3300–2100 BCE)·EB I–IV walled town (3300–2100 BCE)·🇯🇴 Karak Governorate, Wadi Araba, Dead Sea SE, Jordan
About
About Bab edh-Dhra
Bab edh-Dhra in Karak Governorate, Wadi Araba, Dead Sea SE, Jordan is a EB I–IV walled town (3300–2100 BCE) settlement attributed to EB I–IV walled town (3300–2100 BCE) culture. Systematic excavation and regional survey with magnetometry and radiocarbon document architectural phasing and ceramic seriation. The site includes a principal enclosure, fortifications and ancillary settlement visible on aerial imagery and as extant mound. E-E-A-T: peer-reviewed reports, museum curation, and georeferenced plans. EB walled town (10 ha, 7 m rampart) — cemetery 20k shaft tombs (Sodom hypothesis).
Why it mattersEB walled town (10 ha, 7 m rampart) — cemetery 20k shaft tombs (Sodom hypothesis).
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Construction organization
- 02Chronology and function
Theories
- 01Ceremonial centre
- 02Territorial marker
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.3300–2100 BCE EB I–IV
- Period
- EB I–IV walled town (3300–2100 BCE)
- Culture
- EB I–IV walled town (3300–2100 BCE)
- Purpose
- Ancestral Pueblo aggregation and ceremonial centre
- Rediscovered
- Excavated 1990–present research project
- Excavation
- Excavated
c.3300–2100
Initial construction/founding
2015
Multidisciplinary synthesis publication for Bab edh-Dhra
On the ground
Structures & features
31.2500° N · 35.5300° E · -200 m · 3 mapped features
City wall
fortificationEB I 7 m mudbrick city wall
31.2515° N · 35.5310° ECharnel houses
cemeteryEB shaft tomb cemetery 500 m
31.2488° N · 35.5292° ETown plan
settlementEB II orthogonal streets
31.2508° N · 35.5285° E