Deir Alla: Insights Into A Bronze Age Sanctuary, Prophetic Texts, And Early Metallurgy

(MENAFN- Jordan Times)

AMMAN - Located in the central Jordan Valley, some eight kilometres from the Jordan River, Deir Alla was a sanctuary and a metal-working hub from the 16th century BC until the 5th century BC.

The Biblical site of Sukkot is identified as Deir Alla, but it is not confirmed by all scholars. Deir Alla was the first Bronze Age town excavated in the East bank and it was rebuilt periodically.

The sanctuary was destroyed by fire and the blackened remains of an Egyptian jar bearing the cartouche of Queen Twosret can be dated around 1,200 BC, which is a date known as the collapse of the Bronze Age.

A painted text was discovered by an archaeological team and it contained a prophecy by Balaam, who is mentioned in the Biblical book of Numbers 22-24 as a servant working for the Moabite King Balak. The text refers to divine visions and signs of future destruction, in a language that is close to that of the Bible.

The text, in a language between Aramaic and Canaanite, can be dated to circa 800 BC.

The finds at Deir Alla included a bronze ring; a bronze knife blade fragment; a 'button' made of a re-used sherd and a sandstone rubber. The pottery repertoire seems to point to a household function.

Eveline Johanna van der Steen from Leiden University speculated that this area was a kitchen, with a relatively large number of cooking pots, two storage jars and two bowls.

"A second group of pots, broken but complete, was found east of wall. It consisted of at least six jars, one jug and three bowls. A fragment of a cooking pot was found. Some of the jars must have been filled with different kinds of grain since large quantities were found of seeds of two-row barley, bread wheat, flax, field pea, bitter vetch and some darnel, a type of grass that used to be common in cornfields," Van der Steen said, adding that other objects found here were a fragment of a sandstone grinder, a fragment of a sandstone quern, a stone bowl and an unidentified bronze object with a square shaft.

Since in the rest of the excavated area no structures were found and only one pit, occupation must have been concentrated in the region of the former cella (naos).

"Clearly the ruins of the cella formed a good, stable foundation for new structures. Apart from that, it was higher than its surroundings and therefore less likely to be affected by winter rains," Van der Steen said, adding that connection has been found between this courtyard and the small room, and therefore it cannot be determined whether the two formed part of a larger unit.

It seems likely, however, in the light of the fact that this is the only excavated area that had traces of settled occupation. At the same time, the area immediately south of this part has not been excavated and could reveal more houses or rooms.

The Dutch archaeological team found furnaces which might be evidence of the developed metallurgy, however, later excavations in the area of the furnaces have demonstrated that there were hardly any remains of actual copper ore or slag, or any other indications that these furnaces were used in metal production. Apart from that, the size and shape of the furnaces is completely different from that of any other metal furnace in the whole region during this period. It seems therefore that these furnaces had some other, thus far unknown function, the professor underlined.

Archaeologists also determined the gap between the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age at Deir Alla.

"The huge furnaces, the first of which was built at the end of Phase A, represent some industrial activity; although it is at present not clear what kind of industry it represents. Many small drops of metal were found surrounding them, but they were not used for casting bronze or smelting copper. It is clear, however, that whatever activity was performed here it was done on a professional, industrial scale and the population must have brought the skill to perform it from wherever it was they came from," Van der Steen concluded.

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