Tell Abu Suwan
Tell Abu Suwan · Tell Abu Suwwan · Wadi Jilat tell · Harra mound
Chalcolithic-Iron Age (c.5000-600 BCE)·Levantine EBA to Iron Age (Jordan Valley)·🇯🇴 Mafraq Governorate, Wadi Jilat-Jayyan steppe, Azraq basin, Jordan
About
About Tell Abu Suwan
Tell Abu Suwan in the Jordan Valley (Mafraq Governorate, Wadi Jilat-Jayyan steppe, Azraq basin) belongs to the Pella-Deir Alla-Hayyat-Nimrin south-north Valley sequence that mirrors the northern Euphrates Levant focus (Tell Tuqan–Habuba–Selenkahiyeh) in a Rift Valley context. Chalcolithic pits to Iron Age levels reflect the Valley's EBA urbanism and later Ammonite-Moabite frontier.
Why it mattersJordan Valley anchor between Gilead highlands and Dead Sea EB cities, complementary to the Euphrates Levant tell network.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Function of fortified enclosure vs flood defence?
- 02Chronology refined by radiocarbon or ceramic seriation?
Theories
- 01Regional centre vs satellite model
- 02Diffusion vs local development
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.4000 BCE Chalcolithic; EBA walled village 3000 BCE
- Period
- Chalcolithic-Iron Age (c.5000-600 BCE)
- Culture
- Levantine EBA to Iron Age (Jordan Valley)
- Builders
- Levantine EBA to Iron Age (Jordan Valley) community builders
- Purpose
- Jordan Valley farming and trade centre linking Rift Valley to highlands
- Abandoned
- c.2000-1200 BCE
- Rediscovered
- Surveyed and excavated (regional project)
- Excavation
- Excavated
c.4000
Foundation and early occupation
c.1200 BCE
Peak fortified horizon
1990
Modern excavation and publication
On the ground
Structures & features
32.1200° N · 36.8800° E · 620 m · 3 mapped features
EB walled village
fortificationEB wall and gate
32.1201° N · 36.8801° EChalcolithic pits
pitGhassulian pits
32.1203° N · 36.8802° EIron Age reoccupation
settlementIron Age storage and ceramics
32.1204° N · 36.8803° E