Personalities and Archaeology at Tell Hesban

A look at the important people who have lived in, fought over, and traveled through Tell Hesban

 

The goal of anthropological archaeology is not finding the remains of famous historical figures; rather it is the search for clues as to the ways of life of historical societies. Research at Tell Hesban follows this model of archaeology. In the process of undertaking archaeological projects, however, especially on multi-period tells in the Middle East, a dig often reflects cultural history as the background for well known events and persons. This is true of many sites, and this is certainly true of Tell Hesban, Jordan. As such, there are a number of personalities of note who lived in or traveled through Tell Hesban.

            From the very first mention of Heshbon in Numbers 21: 21-30 of the Biblical Old Testament, Tell Hesban has been associated with famous (and infamous) personalities. Sihon the Amorite leader is supposed to have fought the army of Moses for control of Heshbon. Later on, during Israel ’s monarchy, Heshbon may have been under the influence of King David and his son, King Solomon. In Song of Solomon 7:4, also from the Old Testament, the author speaks of the beauty of the “Pools in Heshbon.” A plastered reservoir has been found in the remains of Tell Hesban, which may support this text.

            When Alexander the Great conquered the Levant he brought the town of Heshbon into his territory, and during the Early Roman Period Herod the Great rebuilt the city of Heshbon and placed troops there. When Hadrian traveled through the Levant the road to Jerusalem cut by Heshbon, and he may have stopped to see the Roman Temple in Heshbon.

One of the most famous leaders in the Crusades rested his troops in Heshbon. Saladin, after attacking the city of Karak, brought his troops to Heshbon for a few days before continuing in his fight against the European Crusaders. Heshbon, now called Hesban, was mostly quiet until the early 20th century when, during World War I, T.E. Lawrence “Lawrence of Arabia” visited Hesban. In 1968 Andrews University Archaeologist Siegfried Horn, with the blessing of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, began digging at Tell Hesban. It was into this context that the royal family of Jordan, the late King Hussein and his wife Queen Noor became friends of the archaeological work at Tell Hesban.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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T.E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, (Hertforshire, England: Wordsworth Editions Limited, 1997)

 

Malcom C. Lyons and D.E. Jackson, Saladin: The Politics of Holy War, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982)

 

Numbers 21.21-27 (New Revised Standard Version).

 

Peter Richardson, Herod: King of the Jews and Friend of the Romans, (Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press, 1996).

 

Duane W. Roller, The Building Program of Herod the Great, (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1998).

 

James A. Sauer, “The Pottery at Hesban and Its Relationships to the History of Jordan: An Interim Hesban Pottery Report, 1993” in Hesban After 25 Years, ed. David Merling and Lawrence T. Geraty (Berrien Springs, MI: The Institute of Archaeology/Siegrfried H. Horn Archaeological Museum, 1994).

 

Song of Solomon 7.3,4 (New Revised Standard Version).