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Recent archaeological investigation at Khirbat al-Mukhayyat and nearby Rujm al-Mukhayyat in west-central Jordan have sought to determine the nature and date of Iron Age activity at these sites. Identified as the Nebo of biblical tradition and the Mesha Inscription, Khirbat al-Mukhayyat fulfilled a strategic role within the region. Positioned at the western edge of the Transjordanian plateau, the site holds a commanding view of the Jordan Valley and Judean highlands to the west, enabling inhabitants to monitor access to and from the Jordan Valley, as well to take advantage of agricultural opportunity within the region. This strategic position is reflected in Mukhayyat's contested history under Israelite, Moabite, and eventually Assyrian control. With significant contexts dating to the Iron IIB and Iron IIC at Khirbat al-Mukhayyat, and late Iron Age/Persian period activity at the Rujm al-Mukhayyat, this paper presents the preliminary results of excavation and survey efforts together with ceramic data, providing an important contribution to the study of the Iron Age in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the evidence for diversity in the material culture of Late Iron Age sites situated in the semi-arid margins of west-central Jordan. Least-cost analysis (LCA) is used to model a hypothesized secondary north-south route along the eastern boundary of Moab. Sites found along this route are shown to exhibit a disproportionate level of cultural diversity compared to 'core' settlements. These effects are especially pronounced at sites with clear cultic associations. The results of this investigation are in line with the recent literature on the archaeology of boundaries and frontiers, confirming that these zones are characterized by heightened cultural diversity and interchange across a range of domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with the territorial history of the southern steppe areas of the Levant in the period between ca. 1050-750 BCE. In the early days of the Iron Age, until the mid-9th century BCE, parts of them, were ruled by local desert entities: in the late Iron I a Moabite polity and in the early Iron IIA and the early years of the late Iron IIA the Tel Masos-Beer-Sheba-Negev Highlands Highlands entity. This situation changed in the later years of the Iron IIA as a result of Damascus' rise to hegemony in the Levant. In the second half of the 9th century BCE Judah, under Damascene domination, expanded for the first time into the Beer-Sheba Valley. In the first half of the eighth century BCE, with the revival of Assyrian power in the days of Adad-nirari III, Damascene authority was replaced by north Israelite domination in the south. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of a mistaken interpretation of the Madaba map, biblical Naal Zered is often identified in the scholarship as Wādi al-sā, which marks the boundary between Moab and Edom southeast of the Dead Sea. In reality, the brook of Zered does not appear on the Madaba map and the sole documentary evidence available for its identification is the Bible, which situates Naal Zered near Naal Arnon. The author proposes Wādi Nkheile, which spills into the Arnon from the southeast, as the most likely candidate for the biblical Zered. This identification perhaps also sheds light on the conflicting biblical sources regarding the question of whether or not the Moabites allowed the Israelites to pass through their territory en route to Canaan. In the postbiblical era Naal Zered appears in the boundaries baraita (baraita de-teumin) as part of the eastern border of the land of Israel and the article demonstrates that the identification of Naal Zered as Wādi Nkheile is consistent with the geographical logic of the baraita. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]