Abila

Abila, distinguished as Abila in the Decapolis (Ancient Greek: Ἄβιλα Δεκαπόλεως, Abila Dekapoleos), and also known for a time as Seleucia (Ancient Greek: Σελεύκεια, Seleúkeia), and Abila Viniferos ( by Eusebios, by Hieronymus Abela Vini fertilis), was a city in the Decapolis; the site, now referred to as Qweilbeh (Arabic: قويلبة; also Quwaylibah, Qualibah), occupies two tells, Tell al-Abila and Khirbet Tell Umm al-Amad. The site was submitted to the list of tentative World Heritage sites under criteria I, III and IV on June 18, 2001, by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Jordan.

The name "Abila" is derived from the Semitic word Abel (in Hebrew, "meadow" and in Arabic, "green growth"). The largest site is located amidst verdant agricultural fields near the modern Ain Quweilbeh spring. Roman temples, Byzantine churches and early mosques lie amidst olive groves and wheat fields. The name of the south hill, Umm al-Amad, means "Mother of the Columns", where large columns can be found.

The natural stone of the Transjordan region is beds of limestone and chalky limestone laid down in marine deposits in the Eocene and raised above sea level as the Belqa Group in the middle Eocene. Their relatively soft stone is extensively transected by eroded wadis and is covered by meters of erosional soil termed terra rossa The Abila site is covered by approximately a meter of another, closely related soil, Rendzina. Both soils are fertile, contributing to the agriculture and arboriculture of the area.

Tell Umm al-Amad is also termed Khirbet Umm al-Amad, where khirbet is "ruined settlement." As the wadi is aligned north-south at that location, Tell Umm al-Amad is dubbed "the south tell." The unit of north and south tells create a defensible elevation similar to an acropolis surrounded on three sides by wadis. Tell in Arabic means only "hill", and the archaeological connotation of "hill of accumulated debris" in this case does not apply, as the city was built over two natural hills on the left bank of Wadi ("valley") Qweilibeh.. Its area is delineated by hills and escarpments. The presence of a city wall first constructed in the Iron Age and enhanced under the Macedonians a

Archaeological site data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).