Tell el-Maqlub — Gilead
Middle Bronze Age to Iron Age (2000–600 BCE)·Gileadite / Israelite / Ammonite·🇯🇴 Ajloun Highlands, Jordan
About
About Tell el-Maqlub — Gilead
Tell el-Maqlub — Gilead in Ajloun Highlands, Jordan is a Middle Bronze Age to Iron Age (2000–600 BCE) tell attributed to Gileadite / Israelite / Ammonite. Hilltop Gilead fortress controlling Yarmuk–Jordan pass. Hilltop tri-wall citadel with Iron I Gileadite pottery.
Why it mattersKey Levantine tell with multi-period stratigraphy informing chronology of the Ajloun Highlands
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Stratigraphic sequence
- 02Biblical identification debated
Theories
- 01Border fortress model
- 02Trade route control
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. 2000 BCE
- Period
- Middle Bronze Age to Iron Age (2000–600 BCE)
- Culture
- Gileadite / Israelite / Ammonite
- Purpose
- Hilltop Gilead fortress controlling Yarmuk–Jordan pass
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c. 2000 BCE
Initial construction
c. 1925 CE
Woolley/Petrie survey
On the ground
Structures & features
32.3100° N · 35.7600° E · 800 m · 3 mapped features
Tell el-Maqlub — Gilead — Summit Citadel
citadelCitadel or summit fort on tell
32.3101° N · 35.7601° ETell el-Maqlub — Gilead — Glacis and Wall Circuit
glacisOuter fortification glacis
32.3098° N · 35.7601° ETell el-Maqlub — Gilead — Lower Town / Cemetery
lower townExtension settlement or cemetery
32.3104° N · 35.7598° E