AMMAN— Although no one is certain when and why it was built,
the "Great Wall of Jordan" is gaining more local and international
attention for its significant length — and perhaps for the mysteriousness
surrounding its origins.
اضافة اعلان
The wall, known locally as
Khatt Shebib, is the longest
linear archaeological site in
Jordan. It is longer than the UK’s more
well-known Wall of Hadrian, spanning across 150km with more than 100 watchtowers.
It stretches southwards from Wadi Al Hasa, which is the
southern border of Tafilah Governorate, to Ras Al Naqab, south of Maan
Governorate.
The age of the wall is still being debated, although one
scientific study in 2019 dated it back to the Iron Age, 1200-550BC.
This megalithic structure was first identified internationally
by a British diplomat in 1948, as he flew in a plane over the country. The relic was documented by aerial photography in 1982.
The name of the site consists of the term “Khatt”, which
translates to “line” in English, and “Shebib”, derived from the bedouin belief
that the wall was built by Amir Shebib, a prince of Transjordan.
The reason for building such a lengthy structure remains a subject
of speculation and research by scientists. One hypothesis says that the wall
was built for defensive purposes by the Nabataeans of Petra (312BC-106AD)
against bedouin raids from the east.
But this theory has been scorned by many experts because the
wall stands at only 1.5 meters tall at its highest.
Another theory contends that it was built for agricultural
purposes, to protect crops and cattle in the regions to the west. Diodorus
Siculus, an ancient Greek historian, describes fierce beasts with abnormal
sizes, such as lions and leopards living in the area around the wall and posing
threats to cattle.
Some archaeologists have suggested that the wall, now in
ruins, was used as a border to mark lands and restrict the access of nomadic
people to settled regions.
If this particular theory is true, it would make the
structure one of the oldest and longest border walls in the world.
If the wall had existed during the Iron Age, as some
predictions suggest, the wall would have marked the eastern border of the
Kingdom of Edom, an ancient kingdom in what is now southwestern Jordan.
Edom appears in written sources such as the Bible and the
Egyptian and Mesopotamian records. Its borders Wadi Al Hasa to the north, Wadi
Araba to the west and south, and the Arabian Desert to the east.
In the Bible story, Moses passes through the Edom during the
exodus, but is discusses refused entry by the Edomites, so he travels through
the wilderness that skirts the land of Edom, which is where the wall runs.
Further research and maintenance is needed to turn the internationally
significant structure into a global touristic destination.
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