Pella (Tabaqat Fahl)
طبقة فحل · Pella · Tabaqat Fahl · Fahl
Late Neolithic through Byzantine–Islamic (c.5500 BCE–749 CE); Neolithic, EBA–MB–LB, Iron I–II, Hellenistic–Roman–Byzantine·Neolithic → Canaanite (MBA–LBA) → Iron Ammonite → Decapolis Hellenistic–Roman → Byzantine → Early Islamic·🇯🇴 Irbid Governorate, Jordan Valley, Wadi Jirm el-Moz foothills, Jordan
About
About Pella (Tabaqat Fahl)
Jordan Valley gateway tell (c.10 ha main mound + 30 ha lower city) with 6000-year sequence: Late Neolithic through Byzantine–Islamic. Excavated by Sydney University (Basil Hennessy, Robert Smith, Stephen Bourke) since 1979: MBA–LBA Canaanite town with massive MBA glacis, Late Bronze pillared building, Iron Age Ammonite fortress, Hellenistic–Roman Decapolis Pella (Pompey refoundation) with agora, Odeon and churches, and 635 CE Yarmuk/Maraj al-Suffar campaign layer (Arab conquest). Buried Canaanite–Egyptian horizon under Iron fill. Islamic 749 CE earthquake destruction layer preserved.
Why it mattersOnly 6000-year continuous sequence in Jordan Valley bridging Canaanite–Decapolis–Islamic with MBA glacis and 749 CE earthquake horizon.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Is MBA glacis Canaanite or Hyksos — material source debate
- 02Location of 635 CE Yarmuk battle tent line — Pella plain?
Theories
- 01Bourke Pella as Egyptian frontier vs independent Canaanite gate
- 02Decapolis urbanism via Pompey refoundation synchronism debate
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.5500 BCE Late Neolithic hamlet; MBA 1900 BCE glacis; Hellenistic city 301 BCE (Seleucid Berenece)
- Period
- Late Neolithic through Byzantine–Islamic (c.5500 BCE–749 CE); Neolithic, EBA–MB–LB, Iron I–II, Hellenistic–Roman–Byzantine
- Culture
- Neolithic → Canaanite (MBA–LBA) → Iron Ammonite → Decapolis Hellenistic–Roman → Byzantine → Early Islamic
- Builders
- Neolithic → Canaanite (MBA–LBA) → Iron Ammonite → Decapolis Hellenistic–Roman → Byzantine → Early Islamic builders
- Purpose
- Jordan Valley gateway between Jezreel and Transjordan controlling Jirm el-Moz spring and Decapolis road
- Abandoned
- 749 CE Galilee earthquake; Early Islamic reoccupation until 1033 CE quake
- Rediscovered
- Excavated 1979–present Sydney Univ. (Hennessy/Smith/Bourke) & Department of Antiquities Jordan
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
2000
Initial work at Pella (Tabaqat Fahl)
2015
Stratigraphy and geophysics synthesis for Pella (Tabaqat Fahl)
On the ground
Structures & features
32.4520° N · 35.6170° E · -200 m · 3 mapped features
Main Tell acropolis
fortificationMBA glacis and Iron fortress
32.4522° N · 35.6172° EDecapolis agora & Odeon
civicRoman colonnaded street and Odeon
32.4518° N · 35.6168° E635 CE battlefield scarp
battlefieldEarly Islamic battle debris layer
32.4525° N · 35.6178° E