A) INTRODUCTION TO THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES AT TALL HISBAN (HESHBON).

   Tall Hisban is located on the edge of the highland plateau overlooking the northern tip of the Dead Sea and the Lower Jordan Valley. On a clear day, one can see from the site the biblical towns of Madaba, Nebo, Jericho and Jerusalem. It is conveniently accessed via a paved road which branches off from the new Amman-Jerusalem highway. It is located directly off the road which each year takes hundreds of thousands of tourists to the well-known destinations of Madaba and Nebo. 
    Archaeological excavations by an interdisciplinary team of archaeologists headed by Andrews University professors have brought to light pottery associated with the biblical tribe of Reuben (see Numbers 21:21-31); a huge reservoir believed by many to be the one referred to in Song of Solomon 7:4; city walls built and abandoned by the ancient Ammonites and later restored by Hellenistic settlers, likely Hasmonian Jews; a temple acropolis area and plaza built by the Romans at about the time of Christ; a rolling stone tomb; three early Christian churches with beautiful mosaics from the sixth century AD; and the standing walls and arches of a palace, which may include a portion of an Islamic mosque, built by the Mamluk governor of Balqa in the 14th century AD. 
    Archaeological surveys in the region surrounding this important biblical site have produced numerous examples of vineyards and farms from biblical times (see Isa 5:1-5). The surveys have also enabled project scientists to reconstruct changes over the past several thousand years in the historical landscape, including documentation of cyclic episodes of intensification and abatement of the local food system which have, over the millennia, resulted in the removal of the virgin forests and degradation of the lush pastures which characterized this landscape during biblical times. 
    The results of these excavations and surveys have been published on a regular basis in the popular press; in denominational media; and in scientific journals. The final results are presently being published in a fourteen-volume series of books, of which half have been published to date. Financial sponsors of the research, and especially of the publication effort, include Andrews University, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Geographic Society. 
    Since 1996, Andrews University, in cooperation with the Department of Antiquities of Jordan and the Village of Hisban, has undertaken to install pathways, viewing platforms and signs to make this important site accessible and understandable to visitors. The government has also erected a fence around the site to protect it from damage inflicted by flocks of grazing sheep and goats. Most important, a curriculum and teaching materials have been developed, in cooperation with a school teacher from the Hisban Schools, to teach the present-day village children about the site and its importance as a world heritage site!

B) PRIORITIES FOR PRESERVATION AND RECONSTRUCTION AT TALL HISBAN

Priority #1: The Islamic Citadel and Governor’s Residence

   In the Mamluk period (1260-1516 AD) Hisban was an important provincial site, occupying a strategic location on the postal, pigeon, and caravan routes and just off the pilgrimage route from Damascus. This physical location kept the site in regular communication with both the provincial capital of Damascus and Cairo, the capital of the Sultanate. We know from historical sources that Hisban was made the administrative capital of the Balqa in the first half of the 14th century. Excavations of 1998 and 2001 have uncovered most of what is believed to be the residence of the governor of the Balqa in this period. The residence proper consists of a series of rooms around a paved, open courtyard flanked by a private bathhouse and protected by a reinforced, rectangular tower. On the south side of this complex is a large, barrel-vaulted storeroom full of sugar jars, glazed wares with military-style inscriptions, and javelin points. Citadel walls and towers need to be rebuilt and reinforced in order to prevent further collapse down the slopes. The reasons why restoration and reconstruction of the Islamic citadel and governor's residence are first priority are as follows:

 * Art historical value - The governor's residence on the summit is one of only two extant medieval Islamic palaces in Jordan. The citadel is also the only known one for the entire Mamluk Empire with its own bathhouse. The residence's storeroom is unique in all of Jordan in that it was complete and sealed (and thus preserved) by destruction debris.

 * Tourism potential - Hisban is one of the best known archaeological sites in Jordan. It is frequently visited by both formal and informal tour groups and individuals and appears in foreign tour books. In Jordan, Mamluk Hisban has been featured in the new 6th-grade primer, recently published by the Ministry of Culture. The Mamluk ruins are already an important reference point for local tourists and promise to play a role in the development of regional tourism.

 * High rate of deterioration - The architectural remains on the summit have suffered from 30 years of exposure to the elements and vandalism. In addition, the relatively unstable slopes are prone to erosion; much of the enclosure wall has already fallen into the valley below. Reinforcement and rebuilding of the citadel walls and corner towers are important for structural integrity and for visitors' safety.

 * Historical value - The citadel is what remains of the administrative capital of the Balqa, which was garrisoned for the first half of the 14th century. The architectural remains are of significant local and regional historical importance.

 * Aesthetic quality - Restoration of the summit should begin with the southern entrance and enclosure wall. This is the direction that tourists enter the site, it is the side of the site seen from the village road, and it gives the best view of the valley below. As nearly all of the significant standing ruins on the summit date to the Mamluk period, an investment in restoring this part of the site will contribute greatly towards making Hisban a textbook example of a medieval Islamic citadel.

Priority #2: Byzantine Churches

  

  The foundation walls and floors of two Byzantine churches have been discovered in Hisban. The one is located on the summit (inside the Hellenistic/Mamluk citadel walls), the other to the north of the tell, on a ridge below the summit overlooking two wadis. Both churches produced impressive remains of mosaic floors--the best portions of which have been removed and preserved by the Department of Antiquities. The fact that during the Byzantine Period the town of Esbus (Roman name for Hisban) was an ecclesiastical center with its own bishop makes the preservation and partial reconstruction of these churches important.

Priority #3: Iron Age Reservoir

   Unparalleled among remains from the Iron Age in Jordan is the huge water reservoir which is located on the southwestern slope of Hisban, just below the Islamic citadel. The reservoir, which was constructed during the 9th century BC, has thus far only been partially excavated. As this is the most compelling discovery relating the site to the Bible -- to the "pools of Heshbon" mentioned in the Song of Solomon--it is of great interest to visitors from all three Abrahamic faiths. Excavation of the reservoir needs to be completed, its walls repaired, and the reservoir area fenced.

Priority #4: New Entrance and Parking Lot

  The present entrance and parking lot at Tall Hisban does not permit large tour busses to enter and park. Presently busses are forced to park outside the gate. A new, larger gate, along with an improved parking lot, would greatly improve the situation for tourists when they come in busses.

Priority #5: Cultural Heritage Education Center

   Given the depth of understanding about the history of this important site and its region that has accumulated over the past three decades, and given its importance to Jews, Christians and Moslems as a cultural heritage site, Tall Hisban is a prime location for construction of a Cultural Heritage Education Center. Such a center would provide Jordanian citizens and foreign visitors with exhibits that would highlight important lessons about the past which have been gleaned from the scientific studies of this site over the past three decades. Examples of such lessons include evidence that Jews, Christians and Moslems once lived together in peace in this place, and lessons regarding ancient solutions to pressing problems in Jordan today, such as the problem of water and erosion.

   As the land on which the site is located already belongs to the Department of Antiquities, and given that both the Village of Hisban and the Department of Antiquities are eager to develop the site for tourism, most of the pieces are in place to move forward with this vision. A preliminary sketch of such a center can be seen among the illustrations included in the web site below.

 

 

Edited 1/30/06 tlc