Description

Tell el-Mazar (central east Jordan valley, c. 3km north of Tell Deir Alla and 5.5km south of Tell es-Sa'idiyeh) forms part of a complex of sites in the East Jordan Valley that were all occupied in the Late Bronze and Iron Ages: the regional density of nearby occupation testifies to the importance of the locality. It was not only economically important because of its climate, but it was also a crossroads, connecting north and south, as well as east and west. Towards the end of the Late Bronze Age an Egyptian trade route ran from Beth Shean towards the Amman Plain, crossing the river first by Pella, and later by Tell es-Sa'idiyeh. This route must have passed Tell Mazar, which was inhabited during the late Bronze Age, as shown by the large number of Late Bronze Age sherds that were found by successive surveys. This volume contains the final publication of the four seasons of excavations on the main mound and the sanctuary on mound 'A'.