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	Jerash: Temple of Zeus Jerash: Temple of Zeus (photo: Bell Archive A-448)
	Jerash, located 34 km north of Amman in north Jordan, was a major Hellenistic and Roman site between the late 3rd century BC and early 4th century AD.   The Temple of Zeus (Roman Jupiter) was first built during the Hellenistic period at  210-180 BC, then rebuilt in the early Roman period in AD 22-27, when it was surrounded by a terraced courtyard. A later Roman rebuilding in AD 161-166 added three more terraces ascended by a staircase from a gateway or propylaum to reach the temple. Resting on subterranean vaults, the temple had eight columns in front and twelve along the sides.  Inscriptions from the 40s AD show the temple was funded by local residents, indicating a considerable degree of wealth in the town. The temple looks down upon the Oval Plaza to the south (in the far right background of this image). This photo of the temple by Gertrude Bell was taken in 1900, before the site excavations and restorations began in the 1920s and 30s. The photo is in the Bell Archives at Newcastle University. [source: Aubin, Melissa M. in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East (1997), vol.3, pp. 215-219].
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