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One
of
the
oldest
historical
monuments
in
the
Jordanian
capital
Amman,
which
was
built
by
the
Ammonites.
It
is
a
tower
built
in
the
Iron
Age
around
the
thirteenth
century
BC.
Like
the
rest
of
the
towers
that
surrounded
the
Ammonites,
it
was
intended
to
defend
and
protect
the
city
and
to
monitor
the
movements
of
the
enemies
[1].
Such
towers
were
built
with
huge
blocks
of
stone
trimmed
in
a
simple
way,
and
they
took
different
shapes,
varying
between
square,
rectangular
and
circular,
and
most
of
them
were
made
of
solid
flint
stones.
The
stoning
of
cabbage
was
built
in
a
circular
shape
with
a
height
of
four
meters.
It
was
called
cabbage
for
its
circular
shape.
The
excavations
showed
that
the
tower
consisted
of
two
or
three
layers,
and
it
had
a
main
entrance
and
four
rooms
without
a
roof.
The
stoning
of
cabbage
is
located
west
of
the
Fourth
Circle
in
Jabal
Amman,
in
an
area
overlooking
Wadi
Saqra,
next
to
the
Registration
and
Research
Center
of
the
Jordanian
Department
of
Antiquities
in
Jabal
Amman.
Stoning
was
first
noticed
by
scholars
in
the
19th
century,
through
surveys
that
Glueck
interpreted
as
a
frontier
center
for
the
Ammonites
in
the
Iron
Age
I.
Based
on
new
data,
it
is
indicated
that
these
buildings
had
more
than
one
function
(ie,
forts,
settlements,
agricultural
facilities).
Basically
the
history
of
the
stoning
goes
back
to
the
Assyrian
period
(ca.
730-630/20
BC).
The
outer
borders
are
adjacent
to
the
borders
of
the
Ammonite
state.
If
this
is
true,
the
western
expansion
of
the
Ammonites
did
not
begin
until
much
later.[2]
It
is
one
of
a
series
of
30
castles
that
dot
the
Kingdom
of
Jordan,
dating
back
to
an
unknown
period.[3]
The
diameter
of
the
tower
is
22
meters
stone,
archaeologists
and
historians
disagree
on
its
function
and
origin.
Many
of
the
forts,
built
on
hilltops,
are
now
either
in
agricultural
areas
or
among
the
buildings
of
modern
Oman.
Preliminary
excavations
of
the
stoning,
which
were
carried
out
at
different
times
in
the
last
two
centuries,
date
the
tower
to
the
early
Roman
occupation
of
the
area.
However,
its
constructive
prowess
was
considered
inferior
to
Roman
roads
and
building
standards
and
materials,
which
were
not
comparable
to
the
monuments
and
structures
found
at
ancient
Gerasa
(Jerash)
or
at
Jadara
(Umm
Qais)
or
other
Roman
sites
found
throughout
the
country.
Later
discoveries
of
pottery
vessels
and
other
findings
of
similar
ceramics,
dated
the
tower
to
an
earlier
period,
in
the
Iron
Age,
around
the
first
half
of
the
first
millennium
BC—although
this
is
still
debated.
The
original
use
of
rock
structures,
can
be
found
across
Amman,
Madaba
and
Irbid,
and
also
this
is
still
a
source
of
controversy.
Some
of
these
towers
are
believed
to
be
originally
military
installations,
given
their
position
overlooking
valleys
and
farmland
and
to
prevent
potential
raids.
Other
experts
held
that
these
towers
and
buildings
were
designed
to
protect
fertile
farmland
and
harvest
from
hordes
of
nomads
and
thieves,
as
well
as
to
store
grain.
A
third
school
of
thought
believes
that
watchtowers
evolved
over
time,
originally
created
for
defensive
purposes
and
later,
converted
into
agricultural
watchmen
in
peacetime.
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