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Project Hesban
Archaeological excavations at Tell Hesban (more recently known as Tall Hisban) in Jordan were begun in 1968 by Andrews University archaeologists and have involved two distinct phases, the first emphasizing biblical archaeology, and the second, anthropological archaeology.
Phase I, between 1968 and 1978, was designated by its founding director, Siegfried S. Horn, as the “Heshbon Expedition.” Its primary objective was to establish whether Tell Hesban was the Heshbon mentioned some forty times throughout the Hebrew Old Testament.
The discovery of twenty-one occupational layers, spanning not only the biblical era, but also the classical and Islamic eras, opened the door for anthropological archaeology. This approach was fostered by Larry Geraty, who assumed the directorship of the expedition in 1973.
The effort to rethink the expedition’s research objectives culminated in 1980 with Oystein S. LaBianca’s identification of long-term cycles of intensification and abatement in the local production, consumption and storage of food---the local food system. Using these and related concepts, such as sedentarization and nomadization, Hesban’s history could be studied as a multi-millennial complex entity.
Anthropologically oriented excavations were continued by LaBianca and Geraty in 1996 under the auspices of the Madaba Plains Project. These Phase II excavations focused on the site’s Islamic history as a means to deepen insight into the long-term operation of the local food system. Efforts to clean up the site and restore and preserve its most important ruins were also begun as part of this phase.
Bethany Walker, an Islamic archaeologist, joined the project in 1997 and, since 2001, has served as its chief archaeologist and co-director. The foremost institutional sponsor of the work at Hesban continues to be Andrews University, in cooperation with the Department of Antiquities of Jordan. Financial sponsors include Andrews University, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Geographic Society.
Virtual Tour
Take a virtual tour of Tell Hesban
News
Jordan Times article on Hisban, January 28, 2005
http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/weekend/weekend2.htm
Edited 2/1/06 tlc
