Biblical Archaeology Trip to Tel Hammam, Heshbon, and Peor

Last weekend, I visited a few biblical sites with a group from our church. One of the elders, who led the trip, is an archaeologist and his passion is teaching the Bible through archaeology. We visited three sites: Tel Hammam (biblical Shittim), Heshbon, and Peor. What started as a very rainy and foggy day in Amman, ended up as a clear and and beautiful day down in the Jordan valley. It was such a neat opportunity to see these locations and understand the Old Testament in new ways.

Our first stop was Tel Hammam, which was the headquarters of the Israelites before they crossed the Jordan River to conquer Jericho. This is also the place where the Tabernacle would have been, and where Moses commissioned Joshua to lead Israel into the promised land. The main road going north-south is called the King's Highway, because it transited through many kingdoms of Biblical times, and it is still called the King's Highway today. I always thought the highway got it's name because Jordan is ruled by a King, and it was fascinating to learn that it preserved this name from Biblical times. 

Our guide explained how each layer gives evidence of the civilizations that once lived here, and that they keep building upon each other, to form the Tel. Some people also believe this site is biblical Sodom, but the after hearing the evidence from our guide, it was clear this is not the location. 

The next stop was Heshbon, which is a city the Israelites passed by on their way to the Promised Land. It was also the headquarters of the Amorite king, Sihon, and where the Israelites had victory over the king.

"For Heshbon was the city of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon." ~Numbers 21:26

Unlike Shittim (modern day Tel Hammam), Heshbon had name preservation from Biblical times, so there are no arguments in archaeological circles about the authenticity of this site.

Our guide sharing about the history of Heshbon.

Beautiful views of neighboring towns in the valley.

Heshbon was full of ancient pottery. This is pottery from the Islamic Ere and the cubes are old mosaic pieces from the Roman and Byzantine Era.

The last stop of the day was Peor. It was a remote location, and the excavations at this site had not begun yet, but we saw evidence of one beginning soon. 

Before sites are excavated, a probing machine will take a sample and examine the wall of the earth for evidence of previous civilizations, artifacts, etc.

From the peak at Peor, we could see Tel Hammam, our first stop of the day, and the peak behind us was Mt. Nebo, where Moses died after seeing the Promised Land.  Peor is a mentioned in Numbers, where Balak, the king of Moab, led Balaam at attempt to put a curse on the Israelites, who were threatening to occupy his land. We walked up to the top of the hill on the right. What a gorgeous view of the valley. 

This is looking to the west and is the route the Three Wise Men would have taken to get from from Sheeba (modern day Yemen) to Jerusalem, to worship baby Jesus.

Random rock formation.

Our guide shared so much Biblical history and knowledge, and it just blows my mind that we live in a place so rich of biblical history. 

My friend Victoria and I :). I rode down with her and her boyfriend, and it was nice to spend the day with them.

It was such a fascinating day, and I am so glad for the opportunity to go. Thank you, Nathan, for being an amazing husband and father, and for watching the kids for the day while I went on the trip.