Ancient city of Numeira

Numeira located at the southeastern end of the Dead Sea, and it was excavated between 1977–83. This archaeological site was only occupied during the EB III (Third Millennium BC), and there are several indicators that it was a colony of Bab edh-Dhra. Bab Edh-Dhraʿ is the site of an Early Bronze Age city located near the Dead Sea. Bab edh-Dhra and Numeira are the only known inhabited towns in the region of the Dead Sea between ca. 3300 and 900 BC.

Numeria is one of at least five ancient cities were once established in the region just to the east and south of the Dead Sea., Other four: Khanazir, Feifa, Safi, and Bab edh-Dhra.

Paleo-botanical studies have shown that there was a rich diversity of crops grown at Numeira. Most common were barley, wheat, grapes, figs, lentils and flax. Less common were chickpeas, peas, broad beans, dates and olives.

Like Bab edh-Dhra, Numeira was violently destroyed at the end of the EB III, never to be re occupied. The presence of two layers of ash at Numeira suggest that the city was ravaged by war and later by a natural “fiery” catastrophe. These events likely occurred within a twenty-year period.

By 2500 BC, the vast majority of the fortified settlements throughout the region were abandoned. Probably the farmers and herders had to develop new strategies for changing climatic conditions, especially in terms of rainfall at that time.
Ancient city of Numeira