Jordanian city survived climate change disaster 4,200 years ago

One month ago, I returned from Tall el-Hammam where, among other things, I studied the EB (Early Bronze Age) gate and its IB (Intermediate Bronze Age) blocking. Dr. Steven Collins is the dig’s director, and this report explains why he thinks that the EB gate was blocked in the IB period.

This gate at Tall el-Hammam was blocked off about 4,200 years ago, likely in an attempt to keep nomadic groups out of the city. (4) Shows the blockage, (1) and (2) show the passageway walls of the gateway (6) shows the walking surface as it was 5,000 years ago. (3) shows the surface as it was 4,500 years ago and (5) shows fill that was put in to level the gateway with the ground 4,500 years ago. Photo: © Tall el-Hammam Excavation Project.

Archaeological work shows that people were living at Tall el-Hammam at least as far back as 6,000 years ago.

By the time the climate disaster hit, nearly 4,200 years ago, the city supported a population of between 15,000 to 25,000 people living in or nearby.

The team believes that it was the centre of a small kingdom ruled by a king. The city certainly had its share of amenities. A 100 meter by 100 meter raised platform served as the main hub of the city, containing temples and administrative buildings.

The city was protected by a massive fortification system with walls that Collins said were “about six meters thick and would have been about three times that high.” These fortifications had somewhere between 15 and 20 gates, giving outsiders access to the settlement.

HT: Jack Sasson

2 thoughts on “Jordanian city survived climate change disaster 4,200 years ago”

  1. Your headline, ” Jordanian city survived climate change disaster 4,200 years ago” brings to mind Genesis 13:10, “And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar”. Any connection?

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