Ancient Khirbet Iskander in Jordan
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Ancient Khirbet Iskander

Khirbet Iskander is a 7.5 acre site on the northern bank of the perennial Wadi el-Wala approximately twenty four kilometers south of Madaba in Northern Moab. The site is situated near the bridge where the Madaba-Dhiban road crosses the Wadi. This highway follows closely the Via Nova Traiana, probably the ancient "King's Highway." The mound rises about 20 meters above the surrounding area; its level of average annual precipitation is about 250 millimeters a year. Khirbet Iskander's main period of occupation is the EB IV period, circa 2350 - 2000 BC, after which the site was abandoned. Thus far, the only earlier stratified remains uncovered date to the EB I period ......

Archaeological Expedition to Khirbet Iskander
American Schools of Oriental Research

Khirbet Iskander is an Arabic name and means the "ruin of Alexander (the Great)". This name is taken from a modern village nearby; the original name of the site is unknown. The name is what archaeologists would call anachronistic, since Khirbet Iskander is an Early Bronze Age site and Alexander the Great lived and conquered the area thousands of years later (323 BC).

The Early Bronze Age (EBA) dates to circa 3500 - 2000 BC, a 1500 hundred year era that saw the rise and collapse of the first cities. It is subdivided into four periods: EB I from 3500 - 3100; EB II from 3100 - 2700; EB III from 2700 - 2300; EB IV from 2300 - 2000.

Archaeology at the Dawn of History:
The Khirbet Iskander Collection

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