Moab's Northern Border: Khirbat al-Mudayna on the Wadi ath-Thamad

Daviau, P. M. Michèle

doi:10.2307/3210624

Cited by 10 publications

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“…The Iron Age II (ca. 10 th –6 th C BCE) tall of Khirbat al‐Mudayna is situated along ancient Moab's northern frontier on the Wadi ath‐Thamad in modern‐day Jordan (Daviau, ) (Figure ). Since its ongoing excavation began in 1996, this fortified town with its monumental gate and casemate wall system has yielded numerous isolated burials within the town walls and at the base of the tall , often demarcated by a ring of stones (Figure ), or unmarked and discovered within the first metre of excavation.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Isotopic Evidence for Diet Among Historic Bedouin of Khirbat al‐Mudayna, Jordan

Gregoricka

Judd

2015

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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Interpreting the behaviours of nomadic groups from the archaeological record is particularly challenging owing to the ephemeral remains produced by their lifestyle. As such, human burialseven from isolated contextsprovide a wealth of information about these transient groups. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of a series of human skeletal remains (n = 22) from isolated burials were utilized to reconstruct the diet of historic (ca. 13 th -19 th century CE) Bedouin from the Khirbat al-Mudayna vicinity in modern-day Jordan. Carbon isotope values ranging from À17.7 to À12.5‰ point to variable dietary contributions from both C 3and C 4 -based foods, while corresponding faunal δ 13 C ratios (x = À19.0 ± 1.7‰, 1σ) exhibit depletion in 13 C characteristic of a predominantly C 3 diet. While mean human δ 15 N values ( x = 12.7 ± 1.9‰, 1σ) may suggest that the majority of protein consumed by these nomads came from animal and not plant sources, elevated δ 15 N ratios in some fauna may be indicative of 15 N-enriched soils as reported in some arid desert environments. Considerable variability in both δ 13 C and δ 15 N values also points to differences in individual life histories and subsistence economies over time. Despite a lack of temporal cohesion, these data illustrate the information that can be gleaned from the isolated interments of nomadic or semi-nomadic individuals.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Isotopic Evidence for Diet Among Historic Bedouin of Khirbat al‐Mudayna, Jordan

Gregoricka

Judd

2015

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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“…The construction of an isolated watchtower at Rujm Mukhayyat mirrored the defences at Omride sites further to the south. Khirbat 'Ataruz has previously been linked to the nearby watchtower at Rujm al-'Ataruz (Ji, 2016), while Mudayna ath-Thamad has been linked to several watchtowers, including Rujm ar-Rumayl and Qasr Za'faran (Daviau, 1997). Based on these parallels, I argued that the addition of isolated watchtowers formed part of the Omride building program in west-central Jordan serving not only to buttress Israel's border defences, but also to expand its inter-site communication and defensive capacity within the region (Edwards, 2019).3…”

Section: Territoriality In Northern Moabmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Lookout: Directional Visibility Cones and Defense in the Nebo Region, West-Central Jordan

Edwards

2020

Open Archaeology

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This article uses directional visibility analysis to assess the defensibility of two Iron Age (9th–8th cent. BCE) sites from the Nebo region of west-central Jordan: the fortified town of Khirbat al-Mukhayyat and its adjacent watchtower at Rujm al-Mukhayyat. Directional visibility cones illustrate how the improved viewsheds afforded by the watchtower at Rujm al-Mukhayyat were needed to establish line of sight between Khirbat al-Mukhayyat and other settlements located higher up on the Transjordanian plateau. Without the addition of the watchtower, Khirbat al-Mukhayyat would have been cut off from direct communication with nearby towns at Hesban and Ma’in. Despite the increased visibility provided by the watchtower at Rujm al-Mukhayyat, Khirbat al-Mukhayyat retained limited capacity to monitor movement to the south in the vicinity of Ma’in. Further, it could not establish direct visual contact with the important urban centre at Madaba to the southeast. These findings may have implications for understanding the military strategy adopted by the Moabite king Mesha in his mid-9th century BCE campaign against the Town of Nebo, identified with Khirbat al-Mukhayyat.

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“…The identification of the other sites is uncertain, although there are a number of important Iron Age II sites in Moab that must have played a role in Mesha's kingdom, such as Mudeineh eth-Themed (Daviau 1997;Chadwick, Daviau and Steiner 2000;Daviau and Dion 2002), Khirbet Libb (Glueck 1934: 32;Zwickel 1990), Umm el-Amad (Ibach 1987: 160-67;Zwickel 1990), and Jalul (Younker et al 1996;Younker 2000), all north of the Arnon. Most of these, as well as others, have on various occasions been tentatively identified with place names in the Mesha Stela.…”

Section: How Large Was Mesha's Kingdom?mentioning

confidence: 99%

King Mesha and the Tribe of Dibon

Steen

Smelik

2007

Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

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The Mesha Inscription has attracted much attention and scholarly debate ever since its discovery. King Mesha of Moab, mentioned in the Bible, threw off the yoke of Omride supremacy and reigned from his capital of Dibon over a kingdom that extended both north and south of the Wadi Mujib (the river Arnon). The identification of modern-day Dhiban with Dibon has never been doubted. In this article, however, it is suggested that Dibon, mentioned in the inscription, was not Mesha's capital, but the tribe of which he was the leader. Mesha forged a tribal confederation into a tribal kingdom in Moab. The name of Mesha's capital was Carchoh, also mentioned in the inscription and located at present-day Dhiban. Biblical Kir-Hareseth is identified with this same Carchoh, and the heartland of Mesha's kingdom is north of the Wadi Mujib.

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Moab's Northern Border: Khirbat al-Mudayna on the Wadi ath-Thamad

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

Isotopic Evidence for Diet Among Historic Bedouin of Khirbat al‐Mudayna, Jordan

Isotopic Evidence for Diet Among Historic Bedouin of Khirbat al‐Mudayna, Jordan

On the Lookout: Directional Visibility Cones and Defense in the Nebo Region, West-Central Jordan

King Mesha and the Tribe of Dibon

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