Tell er-Rameh

Contents

Tell er-Rameh or Tall el-Rama is a small mound in Jordan rising in the plain east of the River Jordan, about twelve miles (19 km) from Jericho. It presently has a Muslim cemetery on the acropolis that prevents it from being excavated. It has been traditionally identified as the location of Livias.[1] The team recently excavating at Tell el-Hammam however, has proposed that Tell er-Rameh was the commercial and residential centre of Livias, while the administrative centre was located at Tall el-Hammam.[2]

Etymology

According to Vailhé and Abel the modern name er-Rameh may have derived from the ancient names of Βηθαραμφθά (Betharamphtha), which is what Josephus indicates was the name for Livias[3] Dvorjetski believes that the modern name er-Rameh is derived from Wadi er-Rameh.[4]

Identification

Regarding the name evolution from biblical Beth-haram through the Roman-period Livias/Julias to Arabic Tell er-Rameh, Nelson Glueck states that:

Graves & Stripling propose that, while Tell er-Rameh was the commercial and residential centre of Livias, the administrative centre was situated at nearby Tall el-Hammam.[2] Tell er-Rameh had no natural water source, and some have argued that it received its water from the hot springs at Tall el-Hammam.[5] Dvorjetski identified Tell er-Rameh with Livias based on the presence of "pottery or mosaic stone cubes from the Byzantine and early Islamic eras."[6]

References

  1. 1.Jastrow, M. and Buhl, F. "Beth–Aram" The Jewish Encyclopedia (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1901) 119.S. Vailhé, "Livias." in M. Anello (tran), The Catholic Encyclopedia. (New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910), 9:315.W. F. Albright, The Jordan valley in the Bronze Age. (Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research 1924), 6:49.Nelson Glueck, "Some ancient towns in the plains of Moab." Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 91 (1943), 11.H. Donner and H. Cüppers, Die Restauration und Konservierung der Mosaikkarte von Madeba. Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 83 (1967), 22.C. F. Keil, and F. Delitzsch, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I & II Samuel Trans. J. Martin (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976), 143.Prag, Kay. "A walk in the Wadi Hesban." Palestine Exploration Quarterly (1991), 60-61.Herbert Donner, The Mosaic Map of Madaba. An Introductory Guide, Palaestina Antiqua 7 (Kampen: Kok Pharos, 1992), 39.Dvorjetski, Esti (2007). Leisure, Pleasure, and Healing: Spa Culture and Medicine in Ancient Eastern Mediterranean. Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism. Vol. 116. Leiden: Brill. p. 202. ISBN 978-9004156814. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  2. 2.[2.2]Graves, David E.; Stripling, Scott (2011). "Re-Examination of the Location for the Ancient City of Livias". Levant. 43 (2): 178–200. doi:10.1179/175638011X13112549593122. S2CID 162399714.
  3. 3.Josephus A.J. 18.27; 14.1.4: "Betharamphtha...called it Julias", "Hyrcanus promised [Aretas] those twelve cities..., Medaba, Naballo, Libias..."
  4. 4.Dvorjetski (2007), p. 208.
  5. 5.Abel, Félix-Marie (1938). Géographie de la Palestine. I–II. Paris: Gabalda. p. 1:459.
  6. 6.Dvorjetski (2007), p. 202.