Overview

Bibliography

Numeira is a small Early Bronze walled settlement along the southern edge of the Dead Sea. Because of erosion caused by the Wadi Numeira on the north, only about .5 hectares of the settlement remains; the original settlement was perhaps twice as large. The settlement existed during two phases of the Early Bronze III period. The first phase of settlement, at the beginning of the Early Bronze III period, was unfortified and few architectural features of this phase remain. The second phase of occupation is represented by the walled village that is visible on the tell today. It existed for about 200 years. The village appears to have been abandoned before it was destroyed around 2600 BCE.

The site was excavated from 1979-1983 by the collaborative Expedition to the Dead Sea Plain project under the direction of Walter Rast and R. Thomas Schaub. About 16% or 3200 square meters of the site has been excavated, revealing numerous rooms and courtyards, a city wall, and a tower. Room numbers are based on the published plan in Coogan (1984).