Deir Alla
Encyclopedia
Deir Alla (in modern Balqa Governorate, Jordan
) is the site of an ancient Near East
ern town thought to be Pitru/Pethor.
based on a low natural hill. The hopeful identification of the site as the Biblical Sukkot is not confirmed by any inscription at the site.
Deir Alla was the first Bronze Age city excavated in Jordan. The initial expectations were of establishing a relative chronology of Palestine
pottery in the transition between the Bronze Age
to the Iron Age
, established through meticulous stratigraphy
. It was intended to span a gap between established chronologies at Jericho
and Samaria
.
The oldest sanctuary at Deir Alla dates to the Late Bronze Age; it was peacefully rebuilt at intervals, the floor being raised as the tell accumulated height, and the squared altar stone renewed, each new one placed atop the previous one. The final sanctuary was obliterated in a fierce fire; the blackened remains of an Egyptian jar bearing the cartouche of Queen Twosret
gives a terminus post quem
of ca 1200 BCE, a date consonant with other twelfth-century urban destruction
in the Ancient Near East
. Unlike some other destroyed sites, Deir Alla's habitation continued after the disaster, without a break, into the Iron Age
; the discontinuity was a cultural one, with highly developed pottery of a separate ceramic tradition post-dating the destruction.
On 20 August 2010 it recorded a scorching temperature of 51.1C, the new official highest temperature in the history of Jordan.
, who thereby becomes the first Old Testament prophet to be identified in an inscription.
At the end of the 1964 campaign, 11 clay tablet
s, 3 inscribed in a hitherto unknown possibly alphabet
ic script, 7 bearing only dots, and one uninscribed, were discovered.
, written in an unattested peripheral local dialect, with Aramaic and South Canaanite
characteristics, which employed an idiosyncratic script. The Deir Alla Inscription
is datable to ca. 840-760 BCE; it was painted in inks on fragments of a plastered wall: 119 pieces of inked plaster were recovered. The wall, near the summit of the tell, was felled by yet another tremor.
, Deir Alla is also the site of Battle of Fahl
between the Muslim Caliphate and the Byzantine Empire
. There are several tombs of Sahaba
(followers of Muhammad) in Deir Alla:
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
) is the site of an ancient Near East
Ancient Near East
The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia , ancient Egypt, ancient Iran The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia...
ern town thought to be Pitru/Pethor.
History
The town was a sanctuary and metal-working centre, ringed by smelting furnaces built against the exterior of the city walls, whose successive rebuildings, dated by ceramics from the Late Bronze Age, sixteenth century BCE, to the fifth century BCE, accumulated as a tellTell
A tell or tel, is a type of archaeological mound created by human occupation and abandonment of a geographical site over many centuries. A classic tell looks like a low, truncated cone with a flat top and sloping sides.-Archaeology:A tell is a hill created by different civilizations living and...
based on a low natural hill. The hopeful identification of the site as the Biblical Sukkot is not confirmed by any inscription at the site.
Deir Alla was the first Bronze Age city excavated in Jordan. The initial expectations were of establishing a relative chronology of Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
pottery in the transition between the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
to the Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
, established through meticulous stratigraphy
Stratigraphy
Stratigraphy, a branch of geology, studies rock layers and layering . It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks....
. It was intended to span a gap between established chronologies at Jericho
Jericho
Jericho ; is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate and has a population of more than 20,000. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest permanently...
and Samaria
Samaria
Samaria, or the Shomron is a term used for a mountainous region roughly corresponding to the northern part of the West Bank.- Etymology :...
.
The oldest sanctuary at Deir Alla dates to the Late Bronze Age; it was peacefully rebuilt at intervals, the floor being raised as the tell accumulated height, and the squared altar stone renewed, each new one placed atop the previous one. The final sanctuary was obliterated in a fierce fire; the blackened remains of an Egyptian jar bearing the cartouche of Queen Twosret
Twosret
Queen Twosret was the last known ruler and the final Pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty.She is recorded in Manetho's Epitome as a certain Thuoris, who in Homer is called Polybus, husband of Alcandara, and in whose time Troy was taken. She was said to have ruled Egypt for seven years, but this...
gives a terminus post quem
Terminus post quem
Terminus post quem and terminus ante quem specify approximate dates for events...
of ca 1200 BCE, a date consonant with other twelfth-century urban destruction
Bronze Age collapse
The Bronze Age collapse is a transition in southwestern Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age that some historians believe was violent, sudden and culturally disruptive...
in the Ancient Near East
Ancient Near East
The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia , ancient Egypt, ancient Iran The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia...
. Unlike some other destroyed sites, Deir Alla's habitation continued after the disaster, without a break, into the Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
; the discontinuity was a cultural one, with highly developed pottery of a separate ceramic tradition post-dating the destruction.
On 20 August 2010 it recorded a scorching temperature of 51.1C, the new official highest temperature in the history of Jordan.
Archaeology
A series of Dutch excavations sponsored by the Netherlands Organisation for the Advancement of Pure Research began in 1960, under the auspices of the department of theology, University of Leiden. These excavations continued for five seasons until 1967. The excavation made its most dramatic discovery in 1967, an ink wall inscription relating a hitherto-unknown prophecy of BalaamBalaam
Balaam is a diviner in the Torah, his story occurring towards the end of the Book of Numbers. The etymology of his name is uncertain, and discussed below. Every ancient reference to Balaam considers him a non-Israelite, a prophet, and the son of Beor, though Beor is not so clearly identified...
, who thereby becomes the first Old Testament prophet to be identified in an inscription.
At the end of the 1964 campaign, 11 clay tablet
Clay tablet
In the Ancient Near East, clay tablets were used as a writing medium, especially for writing in cuneiform, throughout the Bronze Age and well into the Iron Age....
s, 3 inscribed in a hitherto unknown possibly alphabet
Alphabet
An alphabet is a standard set of letters—basic written symbols or graphemes—each of which represents a phoneme in a spoken language, either as it exists now or as it was in the past. There are other systems, such as logographies, in which each character represents a word, morpheme, or semantic...
ic script, 7 bearing only dots, and one uninscribed, were discovered.
The Balaam inscription
The 1967 excavation revealed a many-chambered structure that had also been destroyed by earthquake, during the Persian period at the site, in which was found a previously unknown prophecy by the seer and prophet BalaamBalaam
Balaam is a diviner in the Torah, his story occurring towards the end of the Book of Numbers. The etymology of his name is uncertain, and discussed below. Every ancient reference to Balaam considers him a non-Israelite, a prophet, and the son of Beor, though Beor is not so clearly identified...
, written in an unattested peripheral local dialect, with Aramaic and South Canaanite
Canaanite languages
The Canaanite languages are a subfamily of the Semitic languages, which were spoken by the ancient peoples of the Canaan region, including Canaanites, Israelites and Phoenicians...
characteristics, which employed an idiosyncratic script. The Deir Alla Inscription
Deir Alla Inscription
The Deir 'Alla Inscription was the product of a 1967 excavation in Deir 'Alla, Jordan. The excavation revealed a many-chambered structure that had also been destroyed by earthquake, during the Persian period at the site, on the wall of which was written a previously unknown prophecy by the seer...
is datable to ca. 840-760 BCE; it was painted in inks on fragments of a plastered wall: 119 pieces of inked plaster were recovered. The wall, near the summit of the tell, was felled by yet another tremor.
Touristic attractions
As well as being the site of the Deir Alla InscriptionDeir Alla Inscription
The Deir 'Alla Inscription was the product of a 1967 excavation in Deir 'Alla, Jordan. The excavation revealed a many-chambered structure that had also been destroyed by earthquake, during the Persian period at the site, on the wall of which was written a previously unknown prophecy by the seer...
, Deir Alla is also the site of Battle of Fahl
Battle of Fahl
The Battle of Fahl or Battle of Pella was a Byzantine-Arab battle fought between the Rashidun army under Khalid ibn al-Walid Saifullah and the Roman Empire under Theodore the Sacellarius , in Fahl in January 635 AD...
between the Muslim Caliphate and the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
. There are several tombs of Sahaba
Sahaba
In Islam, the ' were the companions, disciples, scribes and family of the Islamic prophet...
(followers of Muhammad) in Deir Alla:
- Abu Ubaidah ibn al Jarrah (أبو عبيدة عامر بن الجراح )
- Dhirar ibn al Azwar
- Shurahbeel ibn HassanaSharjeel ibn HassanaShurahbil ibn Hassana, or Sharjeel ibn Hassana , was a companion of Muhammad [PBUH] and later one of the successful commanders of Rashidun army, served under Rashidun caliphs, Abu Bakr and Umar....