The Swedish Jordan Expedition 2013 at Tall Abu al-Kharaz. Preliminary results from Areas 9, 10 and 11

Abstract

The Swedish excavations at Tall Abu al-Kharaz, a twelve-hectare tell in the central Jordan Valley, continued in 2013 in order to shed further light on the Iron Age occupation of this city that was first settled around 3200 BC, corresponding to the conventional Early Bronze Age IB. The Iron Age occupation lasted from the 12th century BC until 732 BC, when the city was conquered by the Neo-Assyrians. From 2009 to 2012, excavations in Area 9 revealed an exceptionally well-preserved two-storey compound dating from Iron Age I (local Phase IX), i.e. around 1100 BC. The stone compound was exposed for a length of 46 m. It consists of 21 rooms, with walls still standing to a height of more than 2 m. Several hundred complete vessels and other objects point to the extensive contacts of a fairly rich society. Contacts with the Aegean and Cyprus, through offshoots of the Sea Peoples/Philistines, and with Egypt and Phoenicia, were ascertained. At the end of the 2012 season, the eastern limit of the compound was reached. In 2013, complementary excavations were carried out to the north and east of the compound. The eastern extension revealed a defence system which had originally been built in the Early Bronze Age IB/II around 3100 BC but had been reused as a part of the Iron Age I defence structures. Test trenches in the north-eastern part of Area 10 and in Area 11 north-east of Area 10, i.e. a hitherto unexplored area of the city, revealed remains from the Late Bronze Age and the Early and Late Iron Age.