Dhiban
APAAME
- Reference: APAAME_20191029_FB-0117
- Photographer: Firas Bqa'in
- Credit: Aerial Photographic Archive for Archaeology in the Middle East
- Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works
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| Transliterated Name | Source | Name |
|---|---|---|
| Dhiban | Arabic | ذيبان |
| Dīḇōn | Hebrew | דִּיבוֹן |
| Daybān | Moabite |
The Tell of Dibon is located about 70 km. south of Amman next to the modern Jordanian village of
Dhiban. The site is famous as this is the
place where the Mesha Stele (aka the Moabite stone)
was discovered in 1868 CE. This stone bears an inscription memorializing the
deeds of King Mesha
which refers to events and persons until then known only from the Bible
(e.g., 1 Kgs. 16:23-24;
2 Kgs. 3:4-27)
(
A.D. Tushingham in Meyers et al, 1997:156-158). Remains have been found from the Early Bronze Age,
Iron Age II, Nabatean, Roman (?), Byzantine, Umayyad, and later deposits with some breaks in occupation
(
A.D. Tushingham in Meyers et al, 1997:156-158). The ancient site of Dibon was abandoned
(except as a cemetery) when the village moved to its present location, probably in the 14th century CE
(
A.D. Tushingham in Meyers et al, 1997:156-158).
Dibon, a city in Moab first settled in the Early Bronze Age, was the capital of the Moabite kingdom in the Iron Age and an important center in the Nabatean and later periods. The site of biblical Dibon is adjacent to the modern village of Dhiban (map reference 224.1 01), 64 km (39.5 mi.) south of'Amman on the road to Kir Moab (Kerak) and 4 km (2.5mi.) north of the Arnon River. Of the two natural hills lying to the west of the highway, the southern is occupied by the modern village and the northern is the site of the ancient city. The northern hill (200 by 150 m), which is by far the more defensible of the two, is protected on the west, north, and northeast by deep ravines. On the south and southeast today, however, there is a broad saddle joining the mound proper with the hill of modern Dhiban. Excavations have indicated that this is largely artificial, a result of wash, and does not reflect the original Dibon: general plan of the excavation areas. contours. There is every indication that the original city site (Early Bronze Age, probably, and certainly Iron Age I) and the enlarged, later Moabite site (Iron Age II) were well protected on their southern flanks by natural ravines or depressions.
The location of the site of ancient Dibon was first established by its similarity to the name of the modern Arab village. Its identity was subsequently confirmed in 1868 by the discovery on the site of the Mesha Stela.
The chief sources for the history of Dibon are the Bible and the stela of Mesha, king of Moab. In general, the city's fortunes were directly linked with those of Moab, especially with that part of the kingdom lying north of the Arnon River. It was an important Moabite city, possibly as early as the thirteenth century BCE. It is referred to in Numbers 21:30 as one of the cities seized from Moab by Sihon, king of the Amorites. When the invading Israelites defeated Sihon, they took Dibon. Tradition assigned the territory to the tribes of Gad (Num. 32:34) and Reuben (Jos. 13: 15-17), but it probably had stronger ties with Gad, because it is also called Dibon-Gad (Num. 33:45-46).
Dibon was Mesha's birthplace (stela, lines 1-2) and apparently also his father's capital. It is thus not surprising that Mesha made it his capital and erected monumental buildings there. The details of his building activities in Qarhoh (probably the city's royal citadel) are described in lines 2, 21-26 of the stela. Biblical references to Dibon (Is. 15 :2; J er. 48: 18) indicate that it was the chief Moabite city at the time when Moab had achieved some limited independence from Assyria and Babylonia. Dibon is again mentioned in the fourth century CE, in the Onomasticon of Eusebius, where it is described as "a large town near the Arnon" (76:18). The latest reference to Dibon is to be found in the writings of the Arab geographer Yaqut (1179-1229 CE), who speaks of the village Dhiban.
Excavations were carried out in Dibon by the American School of Oriental Research in Jerusalem, beginning in 1950. There were several campaigns: 1950-1951 under the direction of F. V. Winnett; 1952 under W. L. Reed; 1952-1953 under A. D. Tushingham; and in 1955, 1956, and 1965 under W. H. Morton. The first three campaigns were limited to the southeast corner of the mound. The other campaigns investigated the northwest, the northeast, and the summit and center of the mound.
- Tel Dibon in Google Earth
Tel Dibon
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- General plan of the
excavation areas of Dibon from Stern et al (1993)
Dibon: general plan of the excavation areas
Stern et al (1993) - Plan of the Nabatean remains
of Dibon from Stern et al (1993)
Plan of the Nabatean remains
Stern et al (1993)
- General plan of the
excavation areas of Dibon from Stern et al (1993)
Dibon: general plan of the excavation areas
Stern et al (1993) - Plan of the Nabatean remains
of Dibon from Stern et al (1993)
Plan of the Nabatean remains
Stern et al (1993)
- No. 9 Drawing of the Ruins
of Dhiban from Tristram et al. (1873:133)
No. 9
RUINS OF DHIBAN, WHERE THE MOABITE STONE WAS FOUND
Tristram et al (1873)
Tristram et al. (1873:135), while speculating on the discovery of the
Mesha Stele in 1868 CE,
suggested that the Stele was first exposed during the
1837 CE Safed Quake probably unaware that
if an earthquake from around that time exposed the Mesha Stele, it would probably have been the
1834 CE Fellahin Revolt Earthquake.
- Chapter VII
- see top paragraph of page 135 and accompanying footnote*
- from Tristram (1873:135)
- from archive.org
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