Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Getting There & Away
Dhiban is where almost all transport south of Madaba stops. The only way to cross the
mighty Wadi Mujib from Dhiban to Ariha is to charter a taxi for JD12 (bargain hard) each
way. Finding a taxi in Ariha is even harder. Hitching is possible, but expect long waits.
THE MESHA STELE
If you're travelling along the King's Highway, you'll keep coming across references to the Mesha Stele, but chances
are you'll find little opportunity to discover what it is. Here's a quick ready reference to this significant artefact.
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What is a stele?
It's an ancient upright stone, usually decorated in some way.
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And the Mesha Stele?
It was a chest-high, black basalt tablet of stone carved with inscriptions.
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Who discovered it?
It was found by a missionary at Dhiban in 1868.
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Why was it so famous?
It provided historical detail of the battles between the Moabites and the kings of Israel
and was also the earliest example of Hebrew script to be unearthed at that time.
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Why was it made?
It was commissioned by King Mesha of Moab to advertise his successes against Israel.
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What happened to it?
After surviving intact from about 850 BC to AD 1868, it quickly came to a rather unfor-
tunate end. After finding the stele, the missionary reported it to Charles Clermont-Ganneau at the French consulate
in Jerusalem, who made a mould of the tablet and returned to Jerusalem to raise the money to buy it. While he was
away, local families, arguing over who was to benefit from the sale, lit a fire under the stone and poured water over
it, causing it to shatter. Although most pieces were recovered, inevitably some were lost.
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Where is it now?
The remnants were collected and shipped off to France, and the reconstructed stone is now on
display in the Louvre in Paris. Copies can be seen in the museums at Amman, Madaba and Karak.
Ar-Rabba
The holy and historic city of Ar-Rabba came under the rule of King Mesha (9th century
BC), then Alexander the Great (mid-4th century BC) and later the Nabataeans (from the
2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD). The Greeks named it Areopolis after Ares, the
god of war, and the Romans based their Arab governorate here.
At the northern end of town are the minimal
ruins
(admission free; daylight hr)
of a
Roman temple from the end of the 3rd century AD (two niches contained statues of the
Roman emperors Diocletian and Maximilian), and other Roman and Byzantine buildings.
None of the ruins are signposted.
