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Excavations at Abila of the Decapolis, Northern Jordan |
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When the survey and excavation started in 1980 and 1982, Dr. Mare and his staff saw on a part of Umm el ‘Amad the scattered columns of what was thought to be an ancient temple, but which, on excavation, turned out to be a seventh- to eighth-century A.D. Christian church. On the northern edge of this sector the excavators saw the cavea of the Graeco-Roman “theater” which bordered the south edge of the central saddle. Part of a wall ran north across this central saddle toward Tell Abila; building ruins were also seen in the saddle area. To the west of the “theater,” north of the seventh-/eighth-century church ruins, was an olive orchard, on the north edge of which were ruins of the west “bridge” or vault over a gate that was part of the north-south road which, in Roman times, was called the Cardo Maximus. Along the south crest of Tell Abila were the remains of an ancient wall which, when excavated, turned out to be the acropolis wall of the city, originally constructed in the Iron Age (1200-586 B.C.) and added to in the Hellenistic/Greek and Roman periods. On the top of Tell Abila in its south sector were seen ruins of what at first was designated as a “public building,” but on excavation turned out to be a three-apsed sixth-century A.D. Christian basilica. Over toward the northeast slope of the tell was found a small semi-circular cavea that may be the remains of an ancient music hall (called in Greek an “Odeon”) similar to the one in the marketplace of ancient Athens. Numerous other ruins on the top of Tell Abila, when finally excavated from 1982 to 2000, included walls, buildings, and other structures going back to 3000 B.C. through the Islamic, Byzantine, Roman, Greek, Iron, and Bronze ages. In addition, the excavation of tombs and tomb complexes in Abila’s extensive cemetery has brought to light much cultural information about the lives of the people who inhabited the site from the Bronze Age through the Byzantine period.
In addition to the discoveries described above, over the course of surveying and excavation from 1980 to 2000, the Abila teams have excavated five Christian churches, a Byzantine shrine, an Islamic fortress-palace, an extensive underground aqueduct system that brought water to the center of Abila and to its Roman bath house and nymphaeum, an ancient olive press, a Roman villa, and other structures. Although the evidence from the 1980 survey and subsequent excavations have clearly shown that the archaeological history of Abila extends from Islamic and Byzantine times at least as far back as the Early Bronze period, the ancient written sources focus attention particularly on one part of that history—the site’s importance in the Hellenistic/Greek, Roman, and later periods, but especially on its connection with the cities of the Decapolis. What is the Decapolis? The meaning and significance of the term “Decapolis” and the cities associated with it have long intrigued scholars. Linguistically and etymologically the term Decapolis (Δεκάπολις) means “ten cities,” but according to ancient sources the number of cities in the group known as the Decapolis varied from ten to eighteen or nineteen. Pliny, in his Natural History (5, 74) under the heading “Decapolis,” lists Damascus, Philadelphia, Raphana, Scythopolis, Gadara, Hippos, Dion, Pella, Galasa (i.e., Gerasa), and Canatha; he then mentions what he calls Tetrarchies (kingdoms), listing among them Trachonitis, Panias (“in which is Caesarea with the aforesaid spring”), Abila, etc. Inasmuch as this Abila is mentioned in connection with Trachonitis and Paias-Caesarea, both located in the north of the Palestine area near the Sea of Galilee, it is likely that Pliny is referring to the Abila near Gadara and Capitolias and not the Abila located farther south in Peraea near Livias, nor the Abila of Lysanias located west and north of Damascus. Pliny then goes on to suggest (Natural History 5, 74) that not all writers include the same cities in their lists when referring to the Decapolis. Evidence of this is seen in the list given in the second century A.D. by the geographer Ptolemy (Geography, 5, 14, 22) who, while omitting Raphana, includes the other nine cities mentioned by Pliny and adds nine more of his own, as follows: Heliopolis (presumably Baalbek), Abila (Quailibah; our Abila), Saana (Sanamyn), Ina, Abila of Lysanias (near Damascus), Capitolias (Beit Ras), Adra (Edrei, Der’a), Gadora, and Samoulis. This makes a total of nineteen cities, counting Raphana; but if Raphana is the same as Capitolias, as some have argued, then there are at least eighteen cities that were regarded as being part of the Decapolis. In light of these lists, we posit that the Decapolis group was located geographically east of the Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee (except for Nysa-Scythopolis at Beth-Shan on the West Bank) in Transjordan and ancient Syria.
Chronologically, the Decapolis cities seem to have come into existence as such during the time of Hellenization following the conquests of Alexander the Great. Spijkerman comments:
Those Decapolis cities other than the ones mentioned above seem to have been founded as such a little later, following the Battle of Panias in 198 B.C., when the Seleucids of Antioch finally conquered the Ptolemaic empire of Egypt and the Decapolis region passed into Seleucid control. Yet despite this control, the Decapolis cities seem to have had some sort of autonomy similar to other small autonomous states such as Iturea, Nabatea, and Judea, which appear to have arisen at least partly as units of political opposition to an area that was considered to be a center of foreign influence and power. Further evidence for this autonomy is seen in the fact that Judea, under the Hasmonean priest-kings, apparently perceiving the Decapolis cities as a political threat, conquered many of them. Though the existence and significance of the Decapolis region is well attested, the nature of this group of cities is largely unknown. Was it some kind of a confederation tied together by political, military, economic, social, and religious bonds or some combination thereof? Certainty on this is not possible. What we do know for sure is that by the time of the Roman conquest in 64/63 B.C. the Decapolis cities constituted a distinct unity as far as their geographical area was concerned. And by New Testament times this region seems to have been flourishing, as evidenced by the references to the group (but not to individual cities within the group) in the Gospels (that is, specifically Matthew 4:25, Mark 5:20, and Mark 7:31) History Waiting to be Uncovered In the light of the literary and archaeological history of Abila and the other cities of the Decapolis region—a history that covers the pre-Old Testament, Old Testament, New Testament, Early Church, and Islamic periods—continued excavation in this region is essential for a fuller understanding of these cities and the roles they played in each of these periods. We invite anyone with an interest in such an endeavor to join us for our Abila 2004 Excavation, set for June 19-August 7. Professors at colleges, universities, and seminaries, and other professionals with expertise in excavation, geology, anthropology, architecture, mosaics, etc.; student volunteers, both graduate and undergraduate; and interested, dedicated lay people from all walks of life have a wonderful opportunity to work side by side with such renowned scholars as Dr. David Chapman, Covenant Seminary; Dr. Jack Lee, St. John Fisher College; Dr. Reuben Bullard, University of Cincinnati; Dr. Robert Smith, Roanoke Bible College; Dr. Susan Ellis, Wayne State College; and many others in helping to uncover more of the fascinating history of this important Bible lands city.
Excavation Goals for 2004 Even though much of value for our understanding of Middle Eastern life during biblical times has been uncovered at Abila, much more work remains to be done. Our goals for the upcoming excavation season are ambitious. We plan to
With so much work to be done, many helping hands are needed.
An Exciting Educational Experience Excavation team members not only contribute to an important work and experience the thrill of reaching back into history and touching it in person but also are privileged to interact closely with the contemporary people and culture of the area. There are many other benefits of joining the Abila 2004 Excavation team:
Approximate Expenses to Participate in the Abila Excavation, June 19-August 7, 2004
For further information and an application, contact:
Dr. W. Harold Mare, Also, visit our Abila website for more information and downloadable forms. The Abila 2004 Excavation is sponsored by the Abila Archaeological Project and Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, and endorsed by the Near East Archaeological Society.
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