The Tall
Tall Zira'a is a large hill some 4.5 km south-west of the ancient Decapolis city of Gadara in northern Jordan. It is situated at the confluence of the Wadi el-'Arab and its tributary, the Wadi az-Zahar. The tall (-17 m NN) rises about 25 m above the surrounding area. The settlements were built on top of a natural limestone hill, which has a dimension of about 240 m in diameter at its base. The plateau measures 160 m in diameter. The cultural layers are between 12 and 15 m thick.
An artesian well is located in the centre of the hill, which used to provide water in abundance, but dried up rapidly in the last years due to excessive pumping by the owners of the surrounding olive tree plantations. The hill is protected by sheer rock faces on its east and north sides. The south flank of the tall offers the best opportunity to overcome the 22–25 m difference in altitude comfortably via a 150 m long, ascending track from west to east.
One terrace is located on the western, the other on the northern base of the tall. Both areas were protected by deep truncations into the Wadi el-'Arab. They served as lower cities near the wadi. However, the north terrace was recently bulldozed for a new olive orchard, and the archaeological remains have thus been seriously disturbed.
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