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AMMONITE TOWER
AMMONITE TOWER
Ancient Israel and Judah basically controlled the land of west of the Jordan, east of the Jordan Valley the kingdoms of Ammon, Moab and Edom ruled. The Bible tells us little about these three Iron Age kingdoms and archaeologically we are only just beginning to see a fuller emerging.
The Ammonites were descendants of Ammon (Ben-ammi), Lot’s son by the younger of his two daughters. (Ge 19:36-38) They were closely related to the Moabites, who were descended from Lot’s other son, Moab. As Abraham's nephew, Lot's descendants, the Ammonites & Moabites were distantly related to the Israelites. Both these people are regularly mentioned in the Bible. This Biblical relationship is supported archaeologically through the similarities between their languages and Hebrew.
Our picture shows what is considered to be the largest and best-preserved Ammonites tower complexes, it is Rujm al-Malfuf (North), in the greater district of Amman. Whilst its visible remains seem to belong to the Roman period. However, comparing it with 18 other towers in the wider area suggest earlier use of Rujm al-Malfuf (North) (and probable construction during the Iron-Age II). This first half of the first millennium BCE is the so-called Ammonite period.
It has a diameter of ca. 22m and a preserved height of ca. 5.5m and attached to an annex, only preserved only in its foundations. The tower seems to have originally consisted of several rooms, with at least two floors. It also seems to have had a complex ventilation system.
We really do not know what the function of these towers was. They have no connection to any walls, apart from their integral annexes. Because of this, it has been suggested that they acted as watchtowers to provide a warning (maybe of the enemy, Israel, approaching) to the local population. Others have theorized that these structures were used as granaries. It is highly likely that these structures would have been seen by the army of Israel in their all-too-many conflicts east of the Jordan.
Coordinates: 31.9577° N, 35.9046° E
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