BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

A City in the Moabite Heartland

Get to know biblical Israel’s neighbor in the Transjordan

Sunrise over the Qasr (“fortress,” at left), a large monumental building situated at the highest point of Khirbet Balu‘a. Friedbert Ninow / Balu‘a Regional Archaeological Project

The kingdom of Moab, located across the Dead Sea to the east of biblical Israel and Judah, is referenced regularly in the Hebrew Bible. Yet our knowledge about the ancient Israelites’ neighbor in the Transjordan remains limited. Outside of the biblical account, it relies primarily on the famous Mesha Stele discovered at Dhiban (biblical Dibon) in the 19th century; although this important piece of documentary evidence gives us the names of a few kings, some details about its religion centered on the god Chemosh, and a few other details, it provides virtually no insight into daily life in the Moabite kingdom. For information about Moab’s urban and rural settlements, local economy, trade, household religion, and burial customs, we must turn to archaeology, which can illuminate the inner workings of everyday life and provide glimpses of the lived background to the Bible and its stories.

In his article entitled “Into the Heart of Moab” in the Summer 2024 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, archaeologist Craig W. Tyson invites us along for an exploration of the Moabite settlement at Khirbet Balu‘a. The largest Iron Age site in Moab, it is located approximately 15 miles east of the southern part of the Dead Sea and about 40 miles southwest of Amman, the capital of modern Jordan. It lies on the northern edge of the Kerak plateau near where the Wadi al-Balu‘a empties into the majestic Wadi Mujib, known in the Bible as the Arnon River; Tyson identifies this controlling position at the head of a major pass through the Arnon as the site’s most critical strategic feature. In all, the site spans an area of nearly 40 acres, although some portions appear to have been developed only in certain periods: Excavations have revealed Iron Age, Persian, Hellenistic, Nabatean, and late Islamic remains.

As to the ancient identity of Khirbet Balu‘a, a handful of proposals have been put forward. From the Bible, scholars have suggested three possibilities: Ar or Ar-Moab (Numbers 21:15; Deuteronomy 2:9); the “city in the midst of the wadi [Arnon]” (Deuteronomy 2:36; Joshua 13:9, 16); and “Bela‘, which is Zoar” (Genesis 14:2, 8). Unfortunately, however, the geographical information provided in the biblical text is not specific enough in any of these instances to make a strong case.

Discovered in 1930, the 6-foot-tall Balu‘a Stele, which appears to show an Egyptian-style royal investiture scene, was a major clue to the site’s importance during the Bronze and Iron Age. Photo courtesy Glenn J. Corbett.

Nevertheless, the impressive archaeology of the site demonstrates its prominence in the region. Indeed, the find that prompted initial excavations at the site was a basalt monument discovered in 1930 known as the Balu‘a Stele, a 6-foot-tall carved slab probably dating to the Late Bronze or early Iron Age (c. 1300–1100 BCE) with an inscription (now too worn to be read) and what appears be to a royal investiture scene employing Egyptian artistic conventions. Further excavations, including those by a German team some 50 years later, revealed Iron Age II (ninth–sixth century) pottery and a variety of Iron Age structures, including segments of a casemate wall running along the edge of the Wadi al-Balu‘a. Two small alphabetic inscriptions also were discovered.

The current excavations, which began in 2017 under the Balu‘a Regional Archaeology Project (BRAP), seek to understand the organization and experience of human life at Balu‘a and the role the site played in the socio-economic and political history of the Moabite kingdom across the Dead Sea from biblical Israel and Judah. Archaeologists have focused on three specific areas.

The first, known as the Qasr (Arabic for “fortress”), is a large monumental building approximately 140 by 115 feet, with 6-foot-thick walls that still stand to a height of more than 20 feet. While the precise purpose or function of the building remains unknown, its location at the highest point of the settlement strongly suggests that it was of great importance. Excavations revealed at least two phases of construction: an early Iron Age IIB pillared building (ninth–eighth centuries BCE) and a late Iron Age structure (c. sixth century) with large storage jars embedded in the floor.

The fortifications at Balu‘a consisted of an Iron Age casemate wall system. Balu‘a Regional Archaeological Project

The second area of focus, known simply as the “House,” focuses on a domestic structure in the residential portion of the site. While its earliest phase dates to the Iron Age I (11th–10th centuries BCE), most of the architecture is slightly later, during the Iron Age IIB (ninth–eighth centuries). The full extent of the building is not yet known, but excavations have revealed three internal doorways with intact lintels, as well as clear evidence of substantial earthquake damage where some of the walls have collapsed.

Finally, the excavations at the “Wall” have exposed the site’s massive Iron Age fortification. Beginning as a single wall dating to the 11th century, already by the tenth century a parallel wall and interior stub walls were built to create a casemate system. The chambers created by these additions were filled with domestic goods such as loom weights and grinding stones, suggesting that they likely were used as houses or storerooms. The latest phase of construction at the Wall, in the sixth–fifth centuries, included towers built atop the casemate system; by this time, however, the settlement had expanded eastward beyond the wall, which served to separate the older and newer portions of the site.

Archaeologists excavating the House, in a residential section of Balu‘a. Friedbert Ninow / Balu‘a Regional Archaeological Project

What can Balu‘a tell us about the world of biblical Israel? The major period of occupation in the Iron Age IIB (ninth–sixth centuries BCE) fits nicely with what we know about the emergence of the Moabite kingdom from the Bible and the Mesha Stele. The conflicts between the ancient Israelites, specifically Kings Omri and Ahab, and Moab are documented in both textual sources; their expansion into the Transjordan led to ongoing encounters with the emerging kingdom of Moab as detailed in the stela. Moreover, given the strategic location of Balu‘a on a southern tributary of the biblical Arnon, it must have played a role in the strategic planning of the Moabite king Mesha; indeed, the development of the site appears to have taken place in tandem with the growing prominence of the kingdom of Moab in the first half of the first millennium BCE.

As the BRAP excavations proceed, they will undoubtedly provide further insights into this site and its strategic and cultural role in the region, answering lingering questions about the emergence of Moab and the lived experiences of the Moabite people during the Iron Age.

For more on the ongoing excavations at Balu‘a and the secrets they are revealing, read the article by Craig W. Tyson entitled “Into the Heart of Moab: Excavations at Khirbet Balu‘a,” published in the Summer 2024 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

Subscribers: Read the full article, “Into the Heart of Moab: Excavations at Khirbet Balu‘a” by Craig W. Tyson, in the Summer 2024 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

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Related reading in Bible History Daily:

Who Were the Ammonites, Moabites and Edomites in the Bible?

Step Into Moabite Jordan

The Mesha Stele and King David