Ancient Moab: Still Largely Unknown

Author(s): Max Miller

Source: The Biblical Archaeologist, Vol. 60, No. 4, The Archaeology of Moab (Dec., 1997), pp.
194-204
Published by: The American Schools of Oriental Research
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3210621
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Ancient Moab

STILL LARGELY UNKNOWN

By MaxMiller
REGION IMMEDIATELY EASTOFTHE DEAD SEAWASKNOWN TheLandof Moab
as Moab in ancienttimes, and the villagerswho planted Moab's terrain is mostly rolling plateau which aver-
SHE
their crops and grazed their flocks between the Dead ages about 1000meters in elevation.A dramaticcanyon, Wadi
Sea and the desert fringe were the Moabites. Egypt- al-Mijib (the Amrnon River of the Bible), divides the plateau
ian recordsfrom near the end of the Late BronzeAge provide into two parts, the northern plateau (biblicalmifgr,Josh 13:9;
the earliestinscriptionalreferencesto the region and its inhab- Jer48:21) and the central plateau (Moab proper). In the Jor-
itants. Unfortunately, these Egyptian references are scarce dan Valley below the northern plateau are the "plains of
and tell us very little about the people who occupied Moab Moab" (biblicalcarbotmo ab,Num 22:1;33:48).A second and
at that time or earlier.Most of our written information about equally formidable canyon, if slightly less dramatic, marks
Moab and the Moabites comes from the Hebrew Bible, in the southern end of the Moabite plateau. This is Wadi al-
fact, and from the so-called Mesha Inscriptionwhich reports Hasa, probably the River Zered of biblical times.
the deeds of the ninth century King Mesha of Moab who Typically, there are heavy winter rains and the porous
finds mention also in the Hebrew Bible (2 Kgs 3). Assyrian soil holds enough of this moisture for cereal crops and pas-
inscriptions from the eighth and seventh centuries BCEpro- turage for sheep and goats. Spots where the soil is deeper
vide passing referencesto laterMoab rulers.When the southern and springs available, especially along the edge of the Dead
Transjordan fell first under Nabataean control during the Sea escarpment and shelves above Wadi al-Hasa, produce
Hellenistic period and then, in 106 CE,was incorporated into fruit trees and vineyards. Thus, Moab is reasonably good
the Roman province of Arabia Petraea, most of the indige-
nous "Moabite"population east of the Dead Sea would have The LejjunMenhirsas photographed by the CentralMoab Survey.In
remained in place while the name Moab gradually dropped 1978, sixteen of the pillarsremainedin place (eleven standing and
out of use.1 Historically, therefore, the names "Moab" and five fallen) from when Glueckphotographedthe same pillars(see
"Moabite"pertain to the Iron Age. below). Allphotographs courtesyof M. Millerunless noted..

194 60:4(1997)
BiblicalArchaeologist
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Moab'sposition on the map of the Levantand its sub-regions.Two
impressivecanyonssubdividethe region:the Wadial-MCsjib
segregates the northernand centralplateaus,while Wadi al-Hasa
delineates the southern reachesof the territory.Moab'sreasonably
productiveagriculturallands are distributedupon this fragmented
landscape.
agricultural land in spite of the facts that the soils tend to be
thin, there are relatively few springs, and the waters of the
Mtjib and the Hasa are virtually inaccessible because of the
steepness of the canyons. Moab's agricultural productivity
during ancient times is well illustrated, in fact, by the bibli-
cal story of Ruth and references to King Mesha. The story of
Ruth begins with a time of famine in Judah; thus Elim-
elech, Naomi, and their two sons emigrated to Moab
where there still was food to be had (Ruth1:1-5).King Mesha,
we are told, "was a sheep breeder; and he had to deliver
annually to the king of Israela hundred thousand lambs, and
the wool of a hundred thousand rams" (2 Kgs 3:4). Regard-
less of the historical accuracy of these passages, they reflect
assumptions on the biblical narrators' part that Moab pro-
duced food even at times when other parts of Palestine were
suffering famine and that, in better times, it produced sheep
by the thousands.
Moab proper, the central plateau, is relatively isolated
by geographical barriers -the Dead Sea on the west, the
Arabian desert on the east, Wadi al-Majib on the north, and
Wadi al-Hasa on the south. The northern plateau is more
open to the outside world, on the other hand, and during
the Iron Age more vulnerable to encroachment by neigh-
boring kingdoms. At one time or another, kings of Israel,
Ammon, and possibly Syria claimed northern Moab, for
example, and the local population no doubt held mixed loy-
alties. Numbers 21:21-32 and related passages set forth
Israel's claim. Specifically, while these passages refer to
the region as "Moab" (consistent with references in Amos,
Isaiah, and Jeremiah), they advance the argument that (a)
the Arnon was the original northern boundary of Moab, and
(b) Moses conquered all of the region north of the Arnon
from an ancient Amorite king and assigned it to the tribes
of Reuben and Gad (Numbers 33). The Mesha Inscription,
representing a Moabite perspective, recognizes that Gadites
dwelt in certain villages north of the Arnon, but presup-
poses thathistoricallythis was Moabiteterritoryand celebrates
its return to Moabite control. Although a full Ammonite
statement on the matter has not survived, it is obvious from
Judges 11 (Jephthah negotiates with Ammon) that the
Ammonites regarded the rich agricultural land of northern
Moab as belonging appropriately to them.

BiblicalArchaeologist
60:4(1997) 195
 Most of the ancient Moabite towns and villages men-
tioned in the Bible, and virtually all of those whose locations
can be determined today with any degree of confidence,were
situated north of the Mujib. When places between the Majib
and the are mentioned, the clues provided as to their
specific locations
.Hasa usually are exceedingly vague. The expla-
nation for this, of course, is that northern Moab was better
known to the ancient Israelites because it was more easily
accessibleto them. A similarsituationhas existed until recently
with regardto the archaeologicalremains of the region. Moab
has received relatively little attention from archaeologists
compared to most other parts of Palestine, and what atten-
tion it has received generally has been focused on northern
Moab.

NineteenthCenturyExplorationsin the Landof A View from JabalShihanacrossthe northernMoabite plateau.The

Moab rimof Wadial-Mijib is visiblein the distance.Thisplateau region
During the nineteenth century, relatively few outsiders lackedthe naturalboundariesof the centralregion and was
entered the region east of the Dead Sea, and fewer still dared
apparentlycontested real estate throughout the IronAge.
to cross the Majib or the Hasa onto the centralplateau. Those
who did cross into Moab proper almost invariably were
apprehended by the local Bedouin tribe which dominated
the region, held under what amounted to "house arrest"until 7 Moab as depicted in the map preparedby EdwardRobinsonfor
they paid bakhshish,and then sent hurrying on their way. his BiblicalResearches(1841). Note the strange topographical
Among the travellers who traversed the whole Moabite features such as the crescentof mountainssoutheast of the
plateau including Moab proper prior to 1870and whose pub- MOCjib/Arnon and the transposedpositionsof JabalShThanand er-
lished observationsdeserve specialmention areUlrichSeetzen Most of these features can be traced to errorsin Burckhardt's
RTha.
(1805), Ludwig Burckhardt (1812), Charles Irby and James journal or to Robinson's misinterpretationof the journal.
Mangles (1818), and Louis de Saulcy (1851).2Both Seetzen
and Burckhardt died during the course of their travels,
and their travel journals were edited and published posthu-
mously by editors who did not always understandthe details.
Burckhardt'sjournal was published first, in 1822,and served
as the basis for the Moab segment of Edward Robinson'smap
of Palestine published in 1841. Robinson's map depicts
several strange featuresfor the Moab segment, most of which
can be traced to editorial mistakes in Burckhardt'sjournal
and/or to entirely understandable misinterpretations of the
journal on Robinson's part. Unfortunately,these strange fea-
tures would linger on in maps of Palestine throughout the
nineteenth century (Miller forthcoming).
The discovery of the Mesha Inscriptionat Dhiban in 1868
initiated a brief phase of more intentional exploration in the
region east of the Dead Sea. Returningto Jerusalemtwo years
after the discovery from an expedition into the Sinai spon-
sored by the Palestine Exploration Society, E. H. Palmer
and C. E T.Drake circledaround the southernend of the Dead
Sea and journeyed through Moab in hopes of finding more
inscriptions. Two years later,in 1872, and also under the aus-
pices of the Palestine Exploration Society, H. B. Tristramled
an exploratoryexpeditionwhich focused specificallyon Moab.
His party, which included F. A. Klein, the discoverer of the
Mesha Inscription,approachedKarakfrom around the south-
ern end of the Dead Sea. After some delay at Karak, until
satisfactory payment was made to the tribal sheik, the
partyheaded north.Plaguedby heavy rainstorms,they reached

196 60:4(1997)
BiblicalArchaeologist

As illustratedby this map publishedby the PalestineExploration
Fundin 1890,the topography of the centralMoabite plateau
remainedpoorly understoodas the nineteenth centurydrew to a
close.
the Mijib the second day after leaving Karak and crossed
at approximately the point where the modem road crosses
today. Either the party got lost along the way, however, or
Tristram's travel notes became garbled, because the place
names which he recorded between Karak and the Mtijib do
not correlate with the route which they must have fol-
lowed. The map which he provided with his published travel
account (Tristram1873) only increases the confusion.
The main projectundertakenby the Palestine Exploration
Society during the 1870s was the mapping of western
Palestine. An American Palestine Exploration Society also
was founded at that time and undertook as its firstprojectthe
mapping of eastern Palestine. Two expeditions set out, the
first led by John A. Paine and Lieutenant Edgar Z. Steever
in 1872, the second by Selah Merrill in 1875-77. The results
were not very satisfactoryin either case and pertainedentirely
to northernMoab (Merrill1881;Moulton 1928).In 1881,there-
fore, after completing with H. H. Kitchener the mapping of
western Palestine,C. R. Conder attemptedto pick up in north-
ern Moab where the Americans had left off. Unfortunately,
he had to withdraw from the project after only ten weeks in
the field because of the limitations of his permit. During that
ten weeks, however, he surveyed approximately 500 square
miles -from Wadi Zarqa Ma<innorthward to Wadi Shu'eib
and northeastward from the upper branches of these two
wadis to Amman (Conder 1889).
Other travellers would pass through the region east of
the Dead Sea during the next decade and a half--e.g., Charles
Doughty in 1875and Grey Hill in 1890and in 1895--but their
travel reports added no new information of significance.
Thus the PEF map published in 18903 represents a status
report for the exploration of Moab as the nineteenth century
drew to a close. This map depicts the topography of north-
ern Moab reasonably accurately and includes the main
archaeologicalsites in essentially their correctpositions. Moab
proper, on the other hand, the central plateau south of the

Changedpoliticalcircumstancesin the southernTransjordanduringthe decade following 1895 allowed explorersto travel in that region more
freely. F.J. Bliss,one of the firstto take advantage of the situation, exploredand clarifiedthe upper branchesof the Mujib(left map).At
center,one of the maps on which R.BrOnnowand A. von Domaszewskitraced the Romanroadsystem and associatedstructuresthrough the
southern Transjordanduring 1895-1898 and filled in more topographicaldetails.They publishedthis along with other maps in Die Provincia
Arabia(1904-9). Note that JabalShThanand er-RTha now are in their right places.A. Musilpublisheda 1:300,000scale map of Moab (right)in
1907 which located hundredsof ruinson the Moabite plateau-more than twice as many as Glueckwould visit in the same region 40 years
later.

60:4(1997)
BiblicalArchaeologist 197
Majib, is sketched in very tentatively.
Moreover, close examination reveals
thatthissegmentof the PEFmap depends
heavily on Tristram's confused map,
which itself preserved several of the
strange features introduced by Robin-
son, who had relied on and, in several
instances, misinterpreted Burckhardt's
travel journal (Miller 1997).
Explorationsin Moabfromthe
Turnof the Centuryuntil
Recently
In 1894, the Ottoman government
seized Karakand reasserted its author-
ity between the Majiband the Hasa. For
approximately a decade thereafter-
until an incident at Shobek in 1905 createdlocal disturbances
that led in turn to the Karakrebellion in 1910-Moab proper
was reasonably well policed. Several scholars seized this
opportunity, beginning with excursions by F. J. Bliss and
Rudolf Brtinnowin 1895.Bliss clearedup the confusion which
is evident in the 1890 PEF map regarding the relative posi-
tions of the upper branches of the Mtjib. Briinnow, assisted
by Alfred von Domaszewski and returning twice (in 1897
and 1898),focused attention on the Roman road system and
associated structures, but confirmed Bliss's findings and
added further topographical clarifications. Alois Musil
preparedthe first comprehensive map of the Moabiteplateau
(1:300,000 scale). Musil, who explored extensively in
southern Transjordanand northwesternArabiabetween 1896
and 1902,devoted the firstvolume of his ArabiaPetraea(1907-8)
to the region east of the Dead Sea and reported the approx-
imate locations of some seventy or eighty ancient ruins
between the Majib and the Hasa. Also providing pub-
lished reports of their visits during this decade of active
exploration were A. Hornstein (1895), H. Vincent (1896), C.
W.Wilson (1899),L. Gautier(1899),W Libbyand E E. Hoskins
(1902), and George Adam Smith (1904).4
The next two and one-half decades, from 1905 to 1930,
were as uneventful in terms of archaeological exploration
east of the Dead Sea as the preceding decade had been active
and fruitful. This is to be expected, of course, in view of the
circumstances surrounding World War I. It was during this
time, however, after the war and the establishment of the
Emirate of the Transjordan,that W. E Albright conducted a
brief expedition to the southern end of the Dead Sea by way
of the Moabite plateau (February,1924). Along the way, he
explored the surface ruins and pottery at JabalShihan,FaqTc,
Adir, er-Rabba,Khanzirah,and Karak.At Karak,he collected
a distinctive type of painted pottery which he identified as
Moabite ware and dated to the end of the Late Bronze and
the Early Iron ages. At Adir, he reported what he thought
to be an Early IronAge Moabite temple. Albright's evidence
for identifying the Adir structure as a temple would not be
very convincing by today's standards, to say nothing of his
198 BiblicalArchaeologist
60:4(1997)
A line of standing pillars("Menhirs")at the BronzeAge site of Lejjj0n
as photographed by N. Glueckin the 1930s.FromGlueck1970:fig.
173.
evidence for dating it to Moabite times. When he returned
to Adir for soundings in 1933 (see below), a house had
been built over the spot.
A new inscriptional discovery, the so-called BalIc Stele,
initiated another flurry of archaeologicalexplorationin Moab
during the 1930s. Discovered by Reginald Head in 1930 at
Khirbatal-Baluc,an extensive ruin that overlooks one of the
main southeastern branches of the Majib, this conical
stone bears both an inscription and a relief. Unfortunately,
the inscription is so badly weathered that even the language
cannot be determined, but the relief is clear and reflects def-
inite Egyptian influence (Wardand Martin 1964). Following
upon the discovery, G. Horsfield and Vincent examined
the site of Khirbatal-Balucand published a very sketchy plan
in RevueBiblique(Horsfield and Vincent 1932).
Nelson Glueck began his surveys in the Transjordanin
the spring of 1933. Not surprisingly in view of the recent
BaliC discovery, he concentrated that first season on the
Moabite plateau. Specifically,Glueck spent about three weeks
in the area east of the Dead Sea and visited more than a hun-
dred sites. In November of the same year,J.W. Crowfoot and
Albrightmade soundings at Khirbatal-Balucand Adir respec-
tively, but without particularly significant results at either
place. Glueck returned to the Moabite region and examined
more sites later on in the course of his surveys (August-
November, 1936), and his reports, published in the Annual
of theAmericanSchoolsof OrientalResearch,served as the stan-
dard authority on the southern Transjordanin general and
the Moabite region in particular for the next four decades.
The importance of Glueck's work had less to do with his dis-
covery of new sites than with the fact that he was the first to
examine the surface pottery of a large sampling of sites
throughout the Transjordan.Actually,most of the ruins which
Glueck examined had been reported already by Musil.

Lehan,a Bronzeand IronAge site on the north rimof Wadi al-Mljib,
is being excavated currentlyby a Belgianteam underthe directionof
Denyse Hom s-Fredericq.An IronIIfortressoccupiesthe rearof the
photograph, while the foreground offers impressivevillage remains
from the LateBronzeIIB-IronItransitionperiod. Photograph
courtesyof Homes Fredericq.
For the next four decades after this flurry of activities
in the 30s, very few archaeological projectswere undertaken
in the region east of the Dead Sea. None of them ventured
into Moab proper south of Mijib except for the excava-
tions at Bab edh-Dhra( in the Jordan Valley, and relatively
little was discovered pertaining specifically to the Iron
Age. Bab edh-Dhra(, excavated by Paul Lapp between
1965 and 1967, is an Early Bronze Age site. Six seasons of
excavations at Dhiban (ancient Dibon) during 1950-56 and
1965 produced a small amount of Iron I material, none of it
located stratigraphically (Winnett and Reed, 1964; Tush-
ingham 1972; Morton, 1955, 1957 and 1989). W. L. Reed
and F.V.Winnett, the excavators of Dhiban, made four small
soundings at el-CAl(ancient Elealeh, the northernmost vil-
lage associated with Moab in the biblical texts) in 1962.They
reported Early Bronze, Middle Bronze, Iron I, and Iron II
pottery,but again not in clear stratification(Reed 1972).Exca-
vating at CArair(ancientAroer)in 1964,E. Olavarriuncovered
the remains of a prominent Iron Age fortress on the ruins
of earlierbuildings. The pottery was mainly from the eleventh
through the ninth centuries BCE.
In contrast to the limited Iron Age remains found at
Dhiban, el-CAl,and CAraCir,5 full scale excavations at TallHis-
ban (ancient Heshbon), sponsored by Andrews University
and conducted between 1968 and 1976,turned out to be both
revealing and controversial. The excavators established that
there was an Iron I settlement at TallHisban, but apparently
not one during the Late Bronze Age or a settlement of any
significance before the twelfth century BCE(Boraasand Horn
1975;Boraas and Geraty 1976,1978). This seemed to conflict
with Numbers 21:26,which identifies Heshbon as the city of
King Sihon (see below). The Andrews University team also
made a systematic survey of other archaeologicalsites within
a ten mile radius of Tall Hisban (Ibach 1976, 1978).
CurrentArchaeologicalProjectsPertainingto Iron
AgeMoab
The veterans of the Tall Hisban excavations have con-
tinued to explore northern Moab with well organized and
innovative excavations and surveys. In 1984, they initiated
excavations at Tallal-'Umayri and in 1992began work at Tall
Jaltil. Both digs continue, the former directed by L. G. Herr
and the latter by R. W. Younker. In 1996, Michele Daviau,
having participated in the Tall al-'Umayri dig and directed
excavations at Tall Jawa, began excavations at Khirbat al-
Mudayna on Wadi ath-Thamad. Tall al-cUmayri already is
shedding importantnew light on the transitionfrom the Late
Bronze to the Iron Age in Moab (Geraty et al 1991); Tall
Jaltil and Khirbatal-Mudayna promise to be important Iron
Age sites as well. This continued exploration of northern
Moab by the veterans of the Tall Hisban project is comple-
mented by excavations underway at Leh-an,initiated in 1980
by the Belgian Committee of Excavations in Jordan and
directed Denyse Homes-Fredericq. Lehan, situated on the
north rim of the Mijib just east of <Ardair,clearly was occu-
pied near the end of the Late Bronze Age (as evidenced for
example by a scarab from the time of the twentieth Egypt-
ian dynasty) and boasted an IronAge fortress contemporary
with the one uncovered by Olavari at (Ara'ir (Homes-
Fredericq 1992).
Moab proper, the central plateau, largely ignored by
archaeologists during the four decades following Glueck's
survey, began to receive renewed attention in the late 1970s.
Still there is relatively little information available about Iron
Age remains between the Mijib and the and this infor-
mation comes entirely from surface surveys H.asa, and limited
soundings at a few sites. Between 1978 and 1983, the author
conducted what has come to be called the CentralMoab Sur-
vey, a general survey of Karakplateau from the southern rim
of the Mtjib canyon to the northernrim of the Hasa and from
the ragged edge of the Dead Sea escarpment to the desert
fringe (specificallyto Wadi Lejjtn and an imaginary line from
BiblicalArchaeologist
60:4(1997) 199
the Roman site of Lejjin southward). The survey team exam-
ined over 400 sites with surface remains indicative of
concentratedhuman activity (mostly occupationalsites), plus
many other less prominent archaeological features such as
isolated building ruins, cairns, small sherd scatters,old road-
way beds, caves, and cisterns.The Bronzeand IronAges were
well represented among the occupational sites (Miller 1991).
Two other surveys overlapped and complemented the
work of the Central Moab Survey. In connection with S.
Thomas Parker's excavations at Roman Lejjan during the
1980s, F. L. Koucky surveyed the surrounding vicinity and
reported a number of Iron Age sites (Koucky 1987). During
1983-85, Udo F. Ch. Worschech examined sites in the
northwestern quadrant of the plateau and along the slopes
to the Dead Sea (Worschech1985a, 1985b;Worschech,Rosen-
thal, and Zayadine 1986).One of the core staff of the Central
Moab Survey, G. L. Mattingly, currently is examining more
comprehensively, but still largely on the basis of surface
remains, selected sites visited during the Central Moab Sur-
vey (Mattingly 1996).
Emilio Olavarri, in the fall of 1976 and summer of 1979,
conducted soundings at Khirbatal-Mudayna, the ruin of an
Iron Age fort which overlooks Wadi al-Lejjiin.Constructed
near the end of the thirteenth century BCEat the earliest
and destroyed at the end of the twelfth or early eleventh cen-
tury, this fort would have protected the eastern (desert) side
of the plateau. The pottery repertoire included examples of
the "collaredrim" storage jar;and of particularinterest from
the site was a pillared building with close affinities to the so-
called"Israelitefour-roomhouse" (Sauer1979).BruceRoutledge
has since conducted soundings at another site with the same
name which also overlooks Wadi al-Lejjin approximately
five kilometers further south (Routledge 1995).6Beginning
in 1985, Worchechbegan limited excavations at Khirbat al-
Baluc,which so far has produced primarily Iron II remains
(Worschech,Rosenthal, and Zayadine 1986,1989;Worschech
and Nonow 1992).
ReconsideringEarlierViewsand LookingAhead
During the 1930s, when Glueck conducted his surveys
in the southern Transjordan,W. F Albright was working out
a correlation between biblical history and archaeology that
was to gain wide acceptance (Albright 1935,1937,1939). An
important featureof Albright'scorrelationwas his contention
that the Israeliteexodus from Egypt, passage through Edom
and Moab, and conquest of Canaan, would have occurred
at the end of the Late Bronze Age (i.e., near the end of the
thirteenth century BCE).Glueck was one of Albright's stu-
dents and reached conclusions during his survey which were
informed by, and at the same time seemed to provide sup-
port for, Albright's position. Specifically, Glueck concluded
from his examination of the surface pottery at selected
sites that there had been a break in sedentary occupation
from the end of the EarlyBronzeto the end of the Late Bronze
Age--i.e., from approximately 1900 to the thirteenth century
BCE.This was followed, Glueck concluded further,by a surge
200 BiblicalArchaeologist60:4 (1997)
CentralMoab Surveyteam "sherding"a site. Subsequentsherdings
and excavationsoften producedifferent picturesof a site's
occupationalhistory,enforcing a caution about inferencesfrom
surfacesurveydata alone.
of village settlements during the thirteenth century. These
new villages represented new settlers, Glueck contended,
namely the Moabites and Edomites.7Glueck also discovered
what he interpreted to be a string of strong fortresses on
the borders of Moabite and Edomite territory and which
he dated to the early Iron age. Both of Glueck's findings, the
surge of villages during the thirteenth century and the string
of early Iron Age border fortresses, seemed to support the
biblical narrative, which presupposes that Moabite and
Edomite kingdoms were already in place when the Israelites
passed through on their way from Egypt to Canaan.His find-
ings were also in harmony with Albright's view that the
Israelites would have passed through Edom and Moab near
the end of the thirteenth century, on the very eve of the
Iron Age.
Beginning in the early 1970s, Albright's views began to
encounter serious challenges, and the discussion regarding
Moabite history and archaeology has shifted considerably
in recent years. A major difficulty with Albright's contention
that the Israelite exodus from Egypt, passage through Edom
and Moab, and conquest of Canaan would have occurred at
the end of the Late Bronze Age was the results of the exca-
vations of the cities mentioned in the biblical account of
the conquest. One after another, archaeologists uncovered
little evidence that most of the cities had been occupied dur-
ing the Late Bronze Age, let alone been strong fortified cities
as the biblical account assumes. The absence of Late
Bronze remains at Tall Hisban is a case in point. An initial
reaction of some was to suggest that Late Bronze-Early
IronHeshbon may be representedby some other ruin nearby,
perhaps TallJall.8 This notion seems to have lost momen-
tum, however, as three other factors also have taken a toll on
the Albrightian reconstruction of early Israelite history and
Glueck's conclusions in particular.
First, archaeological methodology has come a long way
since the 1930s when Glueck surveyed the southern Trans-

Preliminary"on-site"sorting of sherds.Onlyabout ten percent of
sherdscollected from the surfaceare useful for diagnosticpurposes.
The others are discardedat the site.
jordan, with the result that archaeologists working in the
region now are much more cautious about drawing
historical conclusions from limited archaeological evidence.
Most archaeologists would be less confident now, for exam-
ple, then when Albrightidentified "Moabitepottery"at Karak
in 1924, about assigning ethnic labels to pottery styles. Like-
wise, contemporary archaeologists are much more cautious
than Glueck about assigning specific dates to the occupation
of sites on the basis of surface sherds, especially in southern
Transjordanwhere there have been so few excavated sites to
provide ceramic control. Consequently, while it does seem
clear that there was a significant decrease in the number of
settlements on the Moabite plateau during the Middle and
LateBronzeAges, this may have been more of a gradual trend
than a distinctive gap; and it is not at all clear that the
trend or gap ended with a surge of resettlementduring specif-
ically the thirteenth century.
Second, recent trends in literary analysis and historical
studies have led many contemporary biblical scholars to
be equally cautious about drawing historical conclusions
from details in the biblical narratives. The biblical account
of the Israelite encounter with Sihon, for example, written
long after the incident would have occurred, seems to
have a political agenda. As observed above, it seeks to estab-
lish Israel's claim to northern Moab. Almost certainly the
Moabites and Ammonites would have told the story dif-
ferently (Miller 1989b).
Third,anthropological and sociological studies warn that
the political structuresof whatever early Moabite kingdom(s)
existed during the Iron Age, especially during its opening
centuries, probably were more complex than generally imag-
ined. Randall Younker explores some of the ramifications of
recent anthropological and sociological
researchin his contributionto this issue
of BiblicalArchaeologist.
There have also been new develop-
ments in the study of Moabitetoponymy,
again with a trend toward more cau-
tion regarding some of the views that
were firmly entrenched two decades
ago. For example, the author has chal-
lenged Glueck'sproposalthatthe Hebrew
phrase derekhamelek found only in Num.
20:17and 21:22be translatedas a proper
noun, "The Kings Highway," and
equated with the age-old, north-south
route through the Transjordan(Miller
1982). Brian Jones and others have
pointed out serious fallacies in the long
acceptedequationof biblicalKir-haraseth
with present-day Karak (Jones 1991).
Andrew Dearman explores these and
related matters in his discussion below
of "Roads and Settlements in Moab."
Clearly, we are in the early stages only of the archaeo-
logical exploration of ancient Moab. The past two decades
have witnessed a renewed interest in the region, however,
and there is an increasing momentum in its exploration. In
anticipation of discoveries ahead, this issue of BiblicalArchae-
ologistincludes reportsfrom the directorsof two of the newest
archaeological projects in Moab after the first field season:
Michdle Daviau's reports on the Khirbat al-Mudayna exca-
vation and G. L. Mattingly reports on the Karak Regional
Project.As these and other such projectscontinue to produce
new information, we can expect an on-going and lively
discussion regarding ancient Moab.
Notes
I Forcitationsof referencesto Moabin ancientnon-biblicalsources,see
Miller1989a.
2The dates in parentheses indicate when these travellers passed
through Moab. The bibliography at the end of this article provides
dates for theirpublishedreports.
3Palestine:
FromtheSurveysConducted
fortheCommittee
ofthePalestine
Explo-
rationFundandotherSources(London,1890).
4The dates in parentheses indicate when these travellers passed
throughthe regioneast of the Dead Sea. Thebibliographyat the end of
this articleprovidesdates for theirpublishedreports.
5Also, in additionto these sites, therewere otheroccasionaldiscoveries
relevantto the IronAge. Excavationsduringthe mid-1930sin the upper
(Byzantine)levels at Khirbetel-Mukhaiyet(usuallyidentifiedas the site
of the town of Nebo mentionedin the MeshaInscription)producedsome
sherdsfromthe IronAge (Sallerand Bagatti1949).Twotombsdiscovered
at Madaba(ancientMedeba)in the processof constructionproducedarti-
factsdatingto roughlytheend of LateBronzeAge andearlyIronI (Harding
1953;Piccirillo1975).Mentionshouldbe made also of occasionalexcur-
sions into northernMoabby membersof the DeutschesEvangelisches
BiblicalArchaeologist
60:4(1997) 201
 des HeiligenLandes,viz.,Noth,Kuschke,
InstitutfiirAltertumswissenschaft Briinnow,R. E., and Domaszewski,A.
Donner,Stoebe,and Weippert.SeeMiller1992:79.Primarilyinterestedin 1904-9 DieProvincia ArabiaaufGrundZweierin denJahren1897und1898
historicalgeography,they sherded a numberof sites and made useful unter-nommenen ReisenundderBerichtefriiherer
Reisender.
3 vols.
observationsregardingMoabitetoponymy. Strassburg:KarlJ.Triibner.
6Severalarchaeological Burckhardt, J.
ruinseastof theDeadSeaarecalledlocally"Khir- 1822 Travels in SyriaandtheHolyLand,editedby WilliamMartinLeake,
bet el-Medeineh,"which means "littlecity ruin"in Arabic.Thishas led for the Associationfor Promotingthe Discoveryof the Interior
to someconfusionin secondarysources,a confusionwhichis furthercom- Partsof Africa.London:JohnMurray.
plicatedby the factthat"Medeineh"has been transliteratedin to English
in various ways (Medeiyineh,Mdeineh, Mudayna,etc.). Forclarifica- Conder,C. R.
tion and bibliography,see Miller1990.Routledgeconductedsoundings 1889 TheSurveyof EasternPalestine.London:The Committeeof the
at Glueck'sKh.el-Medeiyinehsite# 141;Daviauis excavatingat Glueck's PalestineExplorationFund.
Kh.el-Medeiyinehsite # 68. Crowfoot,J.W.
1934 An Expeditionto BilfiCah.PalestineExploration
FundQuarterly
7Albright'sand Crowfoot'ssoundings at Adir and BalC respectively Statement:76-84.
seemed to supportGlueck's"occupationalgap" hypothesis.Albright's
Dearman,J.A., ed.
soundingsproducedremainsprimarilyfromEarlyBronzethroughwhat 1989 Studiesin theMeshaInscription andMoab.Archaeologyand Bib-
he called MBI and dated 2000-1800 BCE, although at one spot he also lical Studies2. Atlanta:ScholarsPress.
uncoveredsome IronIIsherds(Albright1934).CrowfootuncoveredIron
Age remainsat two of his probes,includinga casematewall at one of them C.M.
Doughty,
which he dated to Iron I (Crowfoot 1934).However, neither Albright 1888 Travelsin ArabiaDeserta.2 vols. Cambridge:CambridgeUni-
norCrowfootfoundmaterialsfromthetimeof thesupposedoccupational versity.
gap. Fischer,H., and Guthe,H.
8Fora summaryof the variousproposedsolutionsto the apparentcon- 1890 NeueHandkartevon Pallistina.ImMassstabevon 1:700000nebst
alphabetischen Namenverzeichnisseund Quellennachweis. Leipzig:
flictbetween the biblicalaccountof Israel'sencounterwith King Sihon & Debes. (Themap itself was publishedthe same year
and the archaeologicalfindingsat TallIHisban, see Geraty1994and Dear- Wagner
in ZeitschriftdesDeutschenPaldstina-Vereins 13:65).
man's articleon "Roadsand Settlementsin Moab"in this issue of BA.
L. T.
Upon restudy of the TallHIisbanpottery, James Sauer suggests that Geraty,
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1989 PreliminaryReporton the SecondCampaignat theAncientSite themesof thisbeautifully
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of el-Baluin 1991.Annualof theDepartment
collection.
ofAntiquitiesofJor- Distributed
dan33:111-21. for theSantaBarbara
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$29.95 paper,illustrated
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Spinning Fantasies
MaxMilleris Professor Rabbis,Gender,and History
of HebrewBiblein Emory MiriamB. Peskowitz
University'sCandlerSchool
"Peskowitzweavesrabbinicrhetoric,archaeo-
of Theologyand former logicaldata,and criticaltheoryinto a detailed
directorof Emory'sPh.D. culturalmap of Roman-period Judaism...
programin Religion.He has Thiswork demonstratesthroughits particular
participatedin several attention to the ordinary . .. how gender was
archaeologicalexcavationsin constructed,maintained,and ultimately
Israel,Jordan,and Syria. naturalized.A brilliantwork."
During1978--83,he directed
a comprehensive -A.J. Levine,Vanderbilt
University
Contraversions,
$45.00 cloth,$17.95 paper
archaeologicalsurveyof the
centralMoabiteplateau,the
resultsof which are
publishedin Archaeological www.ucpress.edu
Surveyof theKerakPlateau(1991).Authorof numerousarticlesand Atbookstores
ororder1-800-822-6657.
severalbooks pertainingto the historyand archaeologyof biblical
times,Milleris perhapsbest known for his TheOldTestament and
UNIVERSITYOF
theHistorian(1976)and A HistoryofAncientIsraelandJudah(1986), CALIFORNIAPRESS
whichhe co-authoredwith JohnHayes.

204 BiblicalArchaeologist60:4 (1997)