A Toponymic Reassessment of the Abil al-Qamḥ Diocletianic Boundary Stone: Identifying Golgol at al-Zūq al-Fauqānī
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: A recent study by Ecker and Leibner in the Palestine Exploration Quarterly examined a Late Roman boundary stone discovered at Abil al-Qamḥ (biblical Abel Beth Maacah), contextualizing the inscription within the Diocletianic tax reforms. This article presents a revised identification of Golgol, one of two toponyms mentioned in the inscription, and places it at al-Zūq al-Fauqānī, approximately 1.5 km southeast of Abil al-Qamḥ. Drawing on British Mandate cadastral maps, this study focuses on the Arabic micro-toponym Juneijil (Jnējəl), situated near al-Zūq al-Fauqānī, which preserved the toponym Golgol. This identification offers a more plausible linguistic and geographical correlation with the boundary stone inscription and underscores the need for a broader reassessment of site identifications in the Diocletianic boundary stone corpus.
Source: Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology
DOI: 10.52486/01.00008.3
Author: Roy Marom
Institution: Van Leer Jerusalem Institute
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funder: Van Leer Jerusalem Institute
OpenAlex ID: W4410499010