Twenty-four days in the land of the Bible: Part II

In my article last week, I gave the background of the events leading up to my participation in an archaeological expedition to Tall el-Hammom, the site of Biblical Sodom and several other cities. In today’s article, I want to begin to share some of the places and experiences I enjoyed on this trip.
It all began on December 17th, when I left Gonzales and drove to Sugarland to catch a ride to Houston’s Bush International Airport. We (some of those with whom I would be working for the next 26 days) were to catch a flight for Frankfort, Germany, scheduled to leave at 6:55 pm. We arrived at the airport around 4:45 without incident, and ate supper at one of the airport cafes around 5:30. After supper, we found out our flight had been delayed until 8:30. When it started nearing 8:30 without a call for boarding to begin, we checked the flight status again and found out it would be closer to 11:00 pm than 9:00. But around 10:00 we began loading, and by 10:30 we were on our way to Frankfort. We had a couple of hours to kill in Frankfort before going on to Amman, Jordan, which passed uneventfully, then boarded a plane for Amman. We landed in Amman at about 2:30 am., and finally arrived at our lodging site around 3:30. After sleeping late to recuperate from travel weariness, we awoke around 10:00 am. eager to begin exploration of a part of the world I had never even thought of visiting.
At this time, there were only five of us, although several more would join us in the days ahead. After a quick breakfast, Scott Stripling (the archaeologist leading our group) suggested we go and visit Petra, the most popular of all the tourist sites in Jordan. We left a little before noon, but ended up lost in downtown Amman. Amman is a city of about 2 and a half million people, so there was lots of room to get lost. As we were driving around trying to find our way, Scott recognized a site he had visited before and felt it would be best to go there, instead of Petra. So that’s what we did.
In the 11th chapter of 2 Samuel in the Bible, verse one, we read: “It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Amman and besieged Rabbah. But David remained n Jerusalem.”
Those of you who are familiar with this story will recognize that this is the story of David’s affair with Bathsheba and the subsequent death of Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah. What I learned that first day in Amman is that the land of Amman and the Ammonites were located in this part of Jordan. The city we know as Amman today was called Rabbah Ammon in the Old Testament. The site to which Scott had taken us is called “The Citadel,” the ruins of the walled city Joab and the armies of Israel were attacking when King David ordered Uriah’s death. It is almost impossible to describe my feelings as I realized I was standing on the site of a battle fought hundreds of years before the birth of Christ.
Many years later, when Rome had conquered most of the known world, ancient Ammon was captured by them and the fortifications were expanded and made stronger. The city was renamed Philadelphia. Ruins on the site today include the majestic ruins of a temple to Hercules, a Roman amphitheater (one of twenty-five found in Jordan), and other ruins from the time of Roman rule. Still later, at the time of the Crusades, Amman was captured by the Crusaders, and they also added to and expanded the fortress. They also build a church on the site, and the ruins of the Byzantine church are also visible there; only a few yards from the pagan Temple of Hercules. The Jordanian Department of Antiquities has also built a museum on the site and many interesting articles are in the Museum. Portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls- and copies of other parts- are on display, as well as many artifacts from many earlier time periods and cultures found in Jordan. Two of the more interesting items to me were a replica of the Moab Stone and a document from the Edomite culture of southern Jordan that includes the story of Balaam and the talking mule. These are the first two non-Biblical references to the nation of Israel ever discovered.
While this site alone was very inspiring and mind-boggling to me, the day was still not finished. Scott suggested we go down to the Dead Sea. Once again the lack of familiarity with the streets and roads led us to take a wrong turn. Instead of the road to the Dead Sea, we found ourselves on the road to Madaba. Madaba (called Medeba in Scripture) is mentioned in Numbers 21:30; Joshua 13:9, 16; I Chronicles 19:7, and Isaiah 15:2. It is best known for a famous mosaic map of the Holy Land that was created at the orders of a Bishop who lived in the 3^rd century after Christ. He was retiring and wanted to build something by which he would be remembered, so he had a new church built: the Greek Orthodox Church named Saint George. The mosaic map was inlaid into the floor of the church. A huge earthquake around 760 A. D. destroyed the church and part of the map, but the church was rebuilt and the remaining portion of the map preserved. Today, hundreds of tourists visit the site each year. Madaba is one of the most Christian towns in all Jordan, a nation that has more Christians than any other mid-eastern country. Today, a school which teaches mosaics is preserving the ancient art. The school also teaches restorative mosaics. Many of the damaged mosaics unearthed by archaeologists today are being repaired by students at the college.
On day two, I saw Tall el-Hammom for the first time. After a tour of the entire site and meeting some of those digging in the city of Sodom, Scott led the group to the area in which we would be working. As I stated last week, the portion of the dig in which I worked is believed to be the Roman city of Livius. Our specific task was to try to discover Herodian stones under the stones of the wall already uncovered. Herodian stones are large building stones with a carved border on them. They are Herod the Great’s “trademark” and are always used on the palaces he had built. Finding these stones would confirm that the city was built on the ruins of Beth-Haran and would certify that we really have found Livius. We began digging beside the wall, but spent most of the day attempting to remove an acacia tree (actually a large bush) that was growing out of the ruins of the wall. Acacia trees are common in this area and are quite a nuisance when they grow in places they aren’t wanted. They have long, curved thorns that make it very difficult to free oneself if caught on them. A saw would have helped immensely, but it would be several days before we had that luxury. By the time we got it most of the tree had already been removed. We worked until 2:00 pm. By order of the Jordanian Department of Antiquities workers, the work hours at the site are from 7:30 am. to 2:00 pm. As the leaders of the dig frequently say, “Welcome to Jordan.”
After leaving the dig site, the crew accompanying Scott visited Mount Nebo, the site of Moses’ death. (Deuteronomy 34:1) Mount Nebo is one of the taller mountains in the area, and from the top one can view much of the land known as the Promised Land. The Dead Sea and Tall el-Hammom are plainly visible, and when it is clear, Jericho, Israel, is also easily seen. The view from Mount Nebo is beautiful. The ruins of a Byzantine Church are located there, although it was closed for repair work at the time of our visit. There is also a small museum located there which has several interesting exhibits. One of the most interesting to me was a Roman mile marker that had been discovered in the 1930’s. The marker is inscribed with the information that Livius is only six Roman miles from the site it was originally placed. Tall el-Hammom falls within that range, but earlier archaeologists have identified a different site as the road’s terminal spot.
In a future column I will say more about this Roman road. Until then, don’t be oblivious of Livius.