Rujm al-Malfouf

Within one mile of our apartment in Jebel Amman, Jordan, is Rujm al-Malfouf, a largely unknown archaeological site. When I discovered how close it was, I could not resist the walk.

One day, while Bill was in a business meeting that I did not need to attend, I meandered through the medical district, crossed busy Zahran Street, and walked past the Iranian Embassy and other heavily guarded compounds and homes to finally arrive at Rujm al-Malfouf.

The gate was locked but an old man in the Jordan Department of Antiquities’ guard shack had a key. He could not speak English but another man translated for me, telling the old man that I wanted to go inside the gate.

Rujm al-Malfouf is definitely not the most impressive archaeological site I have ever visited, but it is interesting nonetheless. Here in the heart of bustling Amman, is this large, circular tower that is well over 2,500 years old. Built in the Iron Age by the ancient Ammonites, it was later reused during Roman times. 

“Rujm” means “hilltop” and “malfouf” roughly translates to “round tower,” an appropriate definition for a round tower that was built on top of a hill. With a diameter of 72 feet and height of 18 feet, the tower was well fortified, had at least two to three floors, and several rooms. When it was first built, it may have been taller than its present 18 feet. Adjoining the tower, which was constructed of limestone slabs, are ruins of a cluster of small rooms. 

Because archaeologists have been unable to precisely date the construction of the tower, no one is certain why it was built. Some speculate that it served as a fortification for the Ammonites against enemy aggressors. The tower could have served as a watchtower and/or a signal tower. It is also likely that the tower and adjoining rooms were built to store harvested crops. In all probability, it served many purposes throughout the last two-and-a-half millennia.

As I walked around the ruins, I noticed that in view behind the tower, a few kilometers away, a skyscraper was being constructed. How fitting, I thought, an old tower and a new tower. I let my mind try to imagine what it must have been like 2,500 years ago, as an ancient, long-forgotten people called the Ammonites began to build Rujm al-Malfouf.

What an undertaking that must have been! I imagined planning sessions, the recruitment of laborers, and day after day of hard work until a structure was created that still stands today. 

I could not help but wonder if that skyscraper looming in the sky above modern Amman, constructed with the use of computer-generated architectural plans, power tools, heavy machinery, and solid steel will still be standing 2,500 years from now. I won’t be around to find out, but I cannot help but admire those ancient people who constructed Rujm al-Malfouf so efficiently – with only their brains and brawn. It has stood the test of time. The builders are forgotten, but not what they built.

I find a lesson here. I will also one day be forgotten by humanity, but my contributions to the kingdom of God will stand the test of time. How true are the words penned by Charles Studd: “Only one life, ‘twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.”