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What is a "Tell"?
 Although the title of this page may suggest that this is a page
about proclaiming a story, it is really about a specific kind of
ancient ruin. The simplest definition of a tell (or tal in
Arabic) is “an artificial mound created by levels of
occupation.” John Currid defines a tell as “a mound consisting
of debris from cities built on top of one another on the same
site” (p. 42). Schoville gives a more detailed definition. He
says, “A tell is a mound containing the debris of human
occupation that has accumulated at a site, built up in
successive layers over the centuries through a sequence of
habitation, destruction, and reconstruction” (p. 98). All the
definitions above point toward two common elements: an
artificially made mound and human occupation.
You may have seen the term “Khirbet” in your
reading and wonder what is the difference between a khirbet and
a tell. Generally speaking, both are found on natural hills but
a tell is a mound of ruins whereas a khirbet is a site that does
not take the form of a mound. Usually, a khirbet site has only a
few or even a single occupation period, not enough to form a
mound. In Jordan, khirbets are the most common type of site.
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