Jordan · 7th century BC
Watchtower in Rujm Al-Malfouf ranks #7,311 of 9,040 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #17 of the 23 mapped in Jordan. Founded c. 650 BC, it is older than 99% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 9 atlas entries founded in the 7th century BC. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Amman, 4 km away. It is one of the 105 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of the Levant. See how Jordan compares in the castle statistics.
Rujm Al-Malfouf is an ancient structure consisting of a round stone tower and several adjacent storerooms, located in the northern side of the Jabal Amman neighborhood of Amman, Jordan.
The structure was likely built in the 7th century BC during the Ammonite Kingdom, and was rebuilt and reused during the later Roman and Islamic periods. The site was excavated several times between 1969 and 2022, where several coins, potteries, and stamps were found. The tower-like building is similar to several structures on the plateaus of central Jordan, which were interpreted as "Ammonite towers" in the sense of border forts by Nelson Glueck in 1939, but are more recently considered to have fulfilled a variety of purposes across many historical periods, mainly of an agricultural and military nature.
On the southwestern side of Jabal Amman, a similar, now destroyed, smaller Ammonite tower stood, which is known as Rujm al-Malfouf South. It had a 13 meters diameter, compared to this tower's 22 meters diameter.
The site currently sits amidst a residential neighborhood, adjacent to Jordan's Department of Antiquities, and the Algerian embassy.
Text adapted from “Rujm al-Malfouf” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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