|
 Mudaybi Gate Complex. Let us now
turn for the remainder of the article to Mudaybi`, Jordan and
its gate complex as evidenced after three seasons of
excavation. Mudaybi` is located on the Karak Plateau of
central Jordan, approximately 21 km southeast of Karak. This
aerial photograph made by Richard Cleave in 1980 shows Mudaybi`
in the center; it is made from the north facing southward
(i.e. north is at the bottom) showing the modern dam in the
right center. In this photograph the inner and outer structure
and their wall lines are both very evident. The site is
approximately 88m x 83m in size and lies near the edge of the
desert marked by conditions too arid to support regular
agriculture. The site also sits on top of a low hill that
protects access into the interior of the Karak plateau.
Mudaybi` is an Iron Age, Moabite fortress dating to
approximately 800-600 B.C. The interior structure is a Late
Byzantine-Early Islamic structure whose function is unclear
because it has not yet been excavated. Mudaybi` has been
excavated since 1997 as a part of the Karak Resources Project,
an interdisciplinary study of resource utilization, past and
present on the Karak Plateau.
  The close-up
aerial photo was made during the winter of 1997 by David Kennedy
and first published in Aramco Magazine. This photo is oriented
with north at the top. It shows the site after the first season
of excavation. Again, clearly visible in the picture are the
inner structure and the outer walls. To give a better idea of
the layout of the site, a second copy of the aerial photo has
superimposed a drawing of the inner fortress and outer fortress
walls on the aerial photograph, and also indicates the location
of the fields of excavation. Areas A and B have been excavated
each season since 1997; Area C was excavated in 1999 and Area D
was opened in 2001.
The gate complex is located in Area B[
Photo 1 & 2]. Even
before the excavation began in 1997, a probable gate opening
was evident, as seen in both in views toward the east and
west. Remains of towers flanking the gateway were evident.
Also visible on the surface was a large upright gatepost. The
excavation team assumed all these items belonged to a later
time period rather than the Iron Age. In addition, several
lintels and one complete volute capital, one half capital and
a capital fragment were visible on the surface. The capitals
were known to belong to the Iron Age from similar capitals
found in datable contexts elsewhere, but the team assumed they
were present on the surface from
secondary use. Based on these
surface finds, the team decided to locate one of the
excavation fields in the gate area, especially due to the
presence of monumental architecture.
 After
three seasons of excavation we have excavated portions of five
of the six pier walls of the Iron II gate complex. We clearly
have a four-chamber gate. The complex is nearly 20 meters wide
and 14.5 meters deep. The gate opening is 4.1 meters wide. The
pier walls are each 1.65 meters wide. The two towers outside the
outer pier wall are approximately the same width. The four gate
chambers are 3.5 meters wide. The chambers on the south side are
6.7 meters long; we assume that the north chambers were
approximately symmetrical. In addition we have at least four
volute capitals) [
Photo] three nearly complete and one half, and a
fragment that may well be a fifth capital. All of these capitals
were found in the immediate area of the gate. We also have found
numerous lintels long enough to run from across the chamber
width from pier to pier, including one that was still laying on
top of a pier wall in Square N8. We also have the threshold
stone for the outer gateway still
in situ, pavement outside the
gateway, a bench outside the gateway, and a gatepost at the
gateway all belonging to the Iron Age Moabite gate complex. The
Mudaybi` gateway is a very large and well preserved gate
complex. When we look at other Iron II sites, we have one of the
largest and best preserved gate complex found in Israel and
Jordan.
 From the table on
the next page, it is clear that only
the gate complexes at Tel Dan and Bethsaida/Geshur are
significantly larger than our gate, even though all the sites
are much larger than our site. And our gate complex is by far
the finest in terms of workmanship and monumental architecture
of any yet discovered in Jordan.
Each of the pier walls thus far excavated
is approximately 1.5 m in height. The walls are constructed
primarily of fossiliferous limestone, apparently from a quarry
several kilometers from the site. The walls are of
semi-dressed stones laid in header-stretcher construction.
There is no evidence of mortar in the walls, but chink stones
were present. The gate opening of 4.1 meters
would allow easy passage for animals loaded with goods, as well
as for wagons or chariots. In the table below all the towns have
relatively similar openings, but the fortress at Tell el-Kheleifeh
has the much smaller passage one might expect at a military
outpost, or just for pedestrian access. The implication based on
both size of the gate opening and presence of monumental
architecture is that our site served as more than a military
fortress, perhaps as a regional administrative center.
 |
