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AMMAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT, DEUTSCHES ARCHÄOLOGISCHES INSTITUT / UNIVERSITÄT MÜNSTER, FELIX WOLTER

ISRAEL’S ANCIENT NEIGHBORS. As the world of biblical archaeology continues to expand, important work is taking place in Israel’s neighboring countries, such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia. This work is revealing the deep economic and cultural ties that bound people and societies together across great distances during the biblical period. Some sites, such as the oasis centers of Tayma and Dadan in northern Arabia, are yielding fresh insights into wealthy desert kingdoms that traded with Israel and Judah. Others, like the enormous tell known as the Amman Citadel in the capital of Jordan, are enjoying renewed interest in their connections to the biblical world. This photo centers on the eastern end of the ancient mound, where the excavation of Ammonite remains from the Iron Age has resumed in recent years.