Excavations at Tall Jalul, 2000
Randall W. Younker, Ph.D.
David Merling, Ph.D.
Andrews University

Introduction

Excavations were conducted at Tall Jalul 5 kilometers east of Madaba by Andrews University from April 24 to May 4, 2000. Randall W. Younker and David Merling were co-directors and Reem Samed al-Shqour was the Jordanian Department of Antiquities Representative. Paul Ray served as Field Supervisor and architect/draftsperson. Paul Bucchheim was the geologist. Jiri Moskala was the Educational Director. Some 23 students and volunteers from Andrews University participated in the excavations.

Our goal this season was two-fold. Educationally, we intended to provide in-field archaeological training for Andrews University students. Archaeologically, our goal was to open a trench in a new field of the tall in order to gain a more complete picture of the occupational history of the site. This new field, located on the east side of the tall, between Field B to the east and Field A to the north, was designated Field E. Four squares were opened in Field A along a west-east axis. The western most square was designated E1, followed by E2-E-4. Coordinate points for the squares in Field E were: Square E1: 231304 125408; Square E2: 231310 125408; Square E3: 231316 125408; and Square E4: 125408.

Results of Field Excavation

Excavations in this brief field season exposed only three phases of activity: (1) recent surface debris accumulation dating to the last few decades; (2) a possible terrace wall, probably dating to sometime earlier in the 19th century; (3) a phase of burial activity dating from one to two centuries ago.

The burials that were uncovered this season were identical in nature to those found in previous seasons in both Fields A and B. When these burials were initially discovered, local villagers and workman informed us that the graves contained Beni Sakhr slaves. Even though, no one from the village seemed to have knowledge of who precisely the interred individuals were on the lower eastern part of the tall that is, no one knew the names of any buried individuals nor of any living relatives in the area we felt it more respectful to re-inter the skeletal remains within the area of the current cemetery on the acropolis. We did note that virtually no grave goods were found with the buried individuals. Wealthy and more important people were apparently interred on the acropolis the highest part of the tall. The latter burial area has been used as a cemetery for the last few centuries and has continued to be used up to the present. Burials on the lower part of the tall, however, apparently ceased some time in the early 19th or even earlier.

Beneath the burials in Field E, our team began to penetrate dark gray earth loci that contained abundant Iron Age pottery, although the lack of time precluded continued excavation of these loci for this season. The forms included pottery from both Iron I and Iron II. A few Persian, Hellenistic, Roman and Islamic sherds were found in disturbed loci. A possible wall of uncertain age was partially uncovered along the north side of Square E1.

A number of objects were found on the surface in or near Field E; a number of other objects were found during the course of excavation. The objects included a number of spindle whorls, flints, an Iron II arrowhead, and Iron Age bronze fibula, an Iron II female figurine head, and two Iron II seals one was of a four-petal floral design incised on a bright blue stone, the other seal was white and possessed Egyptian hieroglyphs which we are now deciphering.