Tell el-Umeiri — Ammonite Capital Hinterland
Early Bronze Age to Persian (3200–332 BCE)·Ammonite·🇯🇴 Amman Plateau, Jordan
About
About Tell el-Umeiri — Ammonite Capital Hinterland
Tell el-Umeiri — Ammonite Capital Hinterland in Amman Plateau, Jordan is a Early Bronze Age to Persian (3200–332 BCE) tell attributed to Ammonite. Ammon hilltop citadel with Iron I four-room houses and Ammonite seals. Herr excavations: LB casemate wall, Iron I Ammonite ostraca and seals.
Why it mattersKey Levantine tell with multi-period stratigraphy informing chronology of the Amman Plateau
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. 3200 BCE
- Period
- Early Bronze Age to Persian (3200–332 BCE)
- Culture
- Ammonite
- Purpose
- Ammon hilltop citadel with Iron I four-room houses and Ammonite seals
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c. 3200 BCE
Initial construction
c. 1925 CE
Woolley/Petrie survey
On the ground
Structures & features
31.8700° N · 35.8900° E · 920 m · 4 mapped features
Tell el-Umeiri — Ammonite Capital Hinterland — Summit Citadel
citadelCitadel or summit fort on tell
31.8701° N · 35.8901° ETell el-Umeiri — Ammonite Capital Hinterland — Glacis and Wall Circuit
glacisOuter fortification glacis
31.8698° N · 35.8901° ETell el-Umeiri — Ammonite Capital Hinterland — Lower Town / Cemetery
lower townExtension settlement or cemetery
31.8704° N · 35.8898° ETell el-Umeiri — Ammonite Capital Hinterland — Reservoir / Cistern
cisternWater storage feature
31.8696° N · 35.8899° E