MPP 50: A Summary Report on the Tall Jalūl Phase 1 Excavations (1992–2017)

Narrating Archaeological Sites and Places - Fifty Years of the Madaba Plains Project at Tall Hisban, Tall al-`Umayri, and Tall Jalul - Douglas R. Clark

Jeffrey P. Hudon [+-]
Andrews University and Bethel College
Jeffrey P. Hudon (PhD Andrews University YEAR) currently serves as the Administrative Director of the Khirbat Safra Excavation Project in Jordan, while working as a member of the Jalūl and Muḍaybiʿ (Karak Resources Project) final publication teams. He teaches Old Testament and Hebrew courses at the SDA Theological Seminary at Andrews University and serves as the administrative assistant for the Institute of Archaeology, as well as an adjunct professor of religion at Bethel University and Grace College. He has 20 seasons of field excavation experience at sites in Jordan (Jalūl, Ḥisbān, and Safra), Israel (Ketef Hinnom and Ramat Rahel), and Turkey (Elmali), and has written over 30 scholarly publications.
Randall W. Younker [+-]
Andrews University
Randall W. Younker (PhD University of Arizona 1996) is Professor of Archaeology and History of Antiquity and Director of the Institute of Archaeology at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. He received his MA and PhD in Near Eastern Archaeology from the University of Arizona under William G. Dever. Randy has been a field archaeologist for the last 40 years in Israel, Jordan, Cyprus, Sicily, and Turkey where he has directed, co-directed, or served as a field specialist. Currently, he is senior director for excavations at Tall Jalūl, part of the Madaba Plains Project, and Senior Co-director of the San Miceli excavation in Sicily. He also presently co-directs a survey in Eastern Turkey. He has served on the Board of the American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR) and chaired their Nominations and Outreach committees. He has co-authored and co-edited 12 books and published or co-published over 100 scholarly and professional articles and reviews.

Description

Strategically positioned near the eastern fringe of the Mādabā Plains, the imposing 18-acre (74 dunams) mound of Tall Jalūl (2312.1254) rises 19 m above the surrounding tableland. Jalūl dominates the landscape in all directions and is an easily distinguishable landmark on the eastern horizon when viewed from sites to the west, such as Tall Ḥisbān and Mādabā. Notable among the small number of true tells in central Jordan, Jalūl comprises an oblong shaped (300 x 240 m) mound with a distinctive, flat acropolis on its southwestern quadrant, which currently functions as a cemetery for the Beni Sakhr tribe. Apart from a section along the mound’s eastern edge, a steep escarpment frames Jalūl’s entire perimeter, clearly indicating that strong fortifications once encircled the site. A very large (35 x 25 m), oval-shaped, 6 m deep depression in the southeastern sector, supplemented by an adjacent but smaller concavity containing a stone-lined cistern, betrays the existence of two ancient water systems. An extensive, extramural settlement spreads out along Jalūl’s southern base. The mound exhibits occupational evidence from the Early Bronze Age to the Hellenistic period, with scattered Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic-period sherds. However, Jalūl’s extramural settlement primarily dates from the Late Byzantine to the Ottoman period, with a few sporadic Iron–Persian sherds.

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Citation

Hudon, Jeffrey; Younker, Randall W.. MPP 50: A Summary Report on the Tall Jalūl Phase 1 Excavations (1992–2017). Narrating Archaeological Sites and Places - Fifty Years of the Madaba Plains Project at Tall Hisban, Tall al-`Umayri, and Tall Jalul. Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. Oct 2025. ISBN 9781800506558. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/view-chapter/?id=46569. Date accessed: 01 Sep 2024 doi: 10.1558/equinox.46569. Oct 2025

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