In the Wadi el-'Arab, one can find traces of human activities and settlement places from all periods, dating back to the Paleolithic.
Tall Zira'a – the most important site in this area – was used for settlement from the Early Bronze Age up to 1900 CE.
It contains evidence of over 5000 years of continuous settlement – almost without large cultural gaps.
It means it is possible to observe not only all the different cultural periods in one place, but also the transitions between them.

When Gadara rose to prominence, the tall temporarily stopped being the most important settlement in the region.
At the end of the 7th century, however, Gadara declined and the tall became the central settlement once again.

Its importance stems from three facts:
First, its position in an area of fertile soil and surrounded by two freshwater-bearing wadis (Wadi el-'Arab and Wadi az-Zahar).

Second, there is an active freshwater artesian spring on top of the tall.
It has been a beneficial and wondrous phenomenon, and a very important factor from a strategic point of view.

Third, the tall's strategic position along an ancient and highly important trade route.
The ascent from 290 metres below sea level in the Jordan Valley to the Irbid-Ramtha-area at c. 560 metres above sea level, can be surmounted via the Wadi el-'Arab without steep or narrow passages.
This makes the Wadi el-'Arab an ideal route, connecting the trade routes along the Mediterranean via the Jordan valley with Transjordan and, further to the north-east, with Damascus and Mesopotamia.
Just as important is the shortcut via Hauran to the east and the centre of Mesopotamia, used since the 5th millennium B.C.
In the Wadi el-'Arab, one can find traces of human activities and settlement places from all periods, dating back to the Paleolithic. Tall Zira'a – the most important site in this area – was used for settlement from the Early Bronze Age up to 1900 CE. It contains evidence of over 5000 years of continuous settlement – almost without large cultural gaps. It means it is possible to observe not only all the different cultural periods in one place, but also the transitions between them.
When Gadara rose to prominence, the tall temporarily stopped being the most important settlement in the region. At the end of the 7th century, however, Gadara declined and the tall became the central settlement once again.
Its importance stems from three facts:
First, its position in an area of fertile soil and surrounded by two freshwater-bearing wadis (Wadi el-'Arab and Wadi az-Zahar).
Second, there is an active freshwater artesian spring on top of the tall. It has been a beneficial and wondrous phenomenon, and a very important factor from a strategic point of view.
Third, the tall's strategic position along an ancient and highly important trade route. The ascent from 290 metres below sea level in the Jordan Valley to the Irbid-Ramtha-area at c. 560 metres above sea level, can be surmounted via the Wadi el-'Arab without steep or narrow passages. This makes the Wadi el-'Arab an ideal route, connecting the trade routes along the Mediterranean via the Jordan valley with Transjordan and, further to the north-east, with Damascus and Mesopotamia. Just as important is the shortcut via Hauran to the east and the centre of Mesopotamia, used since the 5th millennium B.C.
Tall Zira'a