Tell Mar Elias
Tell Mar Elias in 2005
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 Shown within Jordan
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| Location | Jordan |
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| Region | Ajloun Governorate |
| Coordinates | 32°21′44″N 35°43′20″E / 32.36222°N 35.72222°ECoordinates: 32°21′44″N 35°43′20″E / 32.36222°N 35.72222°E |
| Type | Tell |
Tell Mar Elias is a tell, i. e., a mound of several archaeological strata, located only a little beyond the northwest limits of Ajloun in the Ajloun Governorate in northern Jordan and in the historical region Gilead referenced in Sacred Scripture. The ruins of the historical town of Listib ("el-Ishtib" or "el-Istib" in Arabic) or Tishbe, which 1 Kings, 17: 1 identifies as the residence and possibly even birthplace of the Prophet Elijah ("Elias" in Latin and Arabic), are very proximate to the tell, being across a valley from it. Because of its proximity to the assumed locus of historical and religiously significant Tishbe, 2 Christian churches were erected on the tell in the late Byzantine period: the site includes the ruins of one of the largest known Byzantine churches in Jordan. Artifacts from the site, including marble carvings and small metal religious objects, are displayed in the archaeological museum of nearby Ajloun Castle. Further, "respect for the spirit of Nebhī-Ilyâs (the prophet Elias) is given to a grove of oak trees above the ruins" of the Byzantine churches there.
View northwest from Tell Mar Elias, August 2005
The lower chapel in Tell Mar Elias
A simple mosaic floor in Tell Mar Elias
Carving of a cruciform rosette in Tell Mar Elias
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