Tell er-Rameh
| File:Tall er-Rama.jpg Tell er-Rameh | |
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| Alternative name | Tell/Tall el/er-Ramah/Rameh/Rama |
|---|---|
| Location | Jordan |
| Region | Amman Governorate |
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| History | |
| Cultures | Roman Age, Byzantine, Umayyad |
Tell er-Rameh or Tall el-Rama is a small mound in Jordan rising in the plain east of the River Jordan, about twelve miles (19 km) from Jericho. It presently has a Muslim cemetery on the acropolis that prevents it from being excavated. It has been traditionally identified as the location of Livias.[1] The team recently excavating at Tell el-Hammam however, has proposed that Tell er-Rameh was the commercial and residential centre of Livias, while the administrative centre was located at Tall el-Hammam.[2]
Etymology
[edit | edit source]According to Vailhé and Abel the modern name er-Rameh may have derived from the ancient names of Βηθαραμφθά (Betharamphtha),[citation needed] which is what Josephus indicates was the name for Livias[3][dubious – discuss] Dvorjetski believes that the modern name er-Rameh is derived from Wadi er-Rameh.[4][failed verification]
Identification
[edit | edit source]Regarding the name evolution from biblical Beth-haram through the Roman-period Livias/Julias to Arabic Tell er-Rameh, Nelson Glueck states that:
- "the equation of Beth-haram, Beth-ramtha, Beit er-Ram, Beit Ramah, Tell er-Rameh with Livias (Julias), ... is undoubtedly correct. It does not prove, however, that Tell er-Rameh is to be identified with the actual site of ancient Biblical Beth-haram.... An examination of the pottery of Tell er-Rameh proves that this identification cannot possibly be correct."[2][5]
Graves & Stripling propose that, while Tell er-Rameh was the commercial and residential centre of Livias, the administrative centre was situated at nearby Tall el-Hammam.[2] Tell er-Rameh had no natural water source, and some have argued that it received its water from the hot springs at Tall el-Hammam.[6][dubious – discuss] Dvorjetski identified Tell er-Rameh with Livias based on the presence of "pottery or mosaic stone cubes from the Byzantine and early Islamic eras."[7]
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ^
- Jastrow, M. and Buhl, F. "Beth–Aram" The Jewish Encyclopedia (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1901) 119.
- S. Vailhé, "Livias." in M. Anello (tran), The Catholic Encyclopedia. (New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910), 9:315.
- W. F. Albright, The Jordan valley in the Bronze Age. (Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research 1924), 6:49.
- Nelson Glueck, "Some ancient towns in the plains of Moab." Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 91 (1943), 11.
- H. Donner and H. Cüppers, Die Restauration und Konservierung der Mosaikkarte von Madeba. Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 83 (1967), 22.
- C. F. Keil, and F. Delitzsch, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I & II Samuel Trans. J. Martin (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976), 143.
- Prag, Kay. "A walk in the Wadi Hesban." Palestine Exploration Quarterly (1991), 60-61.
- Herbert Donner, The Mosaic Map of Madaba. An Introductory Guide, Palaestina Antiqua 7 (Kampen: Kok Pharos, 1992), 39.
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- ^ Josephus A.J. 18.27; 14.1.4: "Betharamphtha...called it Julias", "Hyrcanus promised [Aretas] those twelve cities..., Medaba, Naballo, Libias..."
- ^ Dvorjetski (2007), p. 208.
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- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Dvorjetski (2007), p. 202.
