تل الحمام | |
 Tell el-Hammam overlooking the Jordan Valley | |
  Shown within Jordan | |
| Alternative name | Tall al-Hammam |
|---|---|
| Location | Jordan |
| Region | Amman Governorate |
| Coordinates | 31°50′25″N 35°40′25″E / 31.8402°N 35.6737°E |
| History | |
| Cultures | Chalcolithic, Early Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age, Late Bronze Age, Roman Age, Byzantine, Umayyad |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1975–1976, 1990, 2005-2016 |
| Archaeologists | Kay Prag, Steven Collins |
Tell el-Hammam (also Tall al-Hammam) is an archaeological site in the Amman Governorate of Jordan, in the eastern part of the lower Jordan Valley 11.7 kilometers east of the Jordan River and not far from its mouth. It lies 12.6 kilometers northeast of the Dead Sea. The site has substantial remains from the Chalcolithic, Early, Intermediate and Middle Bronze Age, and from Iron Age II. There are different attempts at identifying the site with a biblical city. The Hammam Megalithic Field lies nearby. Other archaeological sites in the vicinity include Tall Nimrin, Tall Bleibel, Tall Mustah, Tall Iktanu, Tall Tahouna, Tall Barakat, Tall Kafrayn, and Tall Rama.
The site covers an area of approximately 36 hectares, with a small high mound (Upper Tall) rising about 30 meters above the plain and an extensive lower town (Lower Tall) to the southwest. Occupation of the site began in the Late Chalcolithic period (4th Millennium BC) and continued through the Iron Age (1st Millennium BC) into the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The site reached its maximum extent during the Middle Bronze Age when significant fortifications were constructed.
Excavations at Tell el-Hammam have been ongoing since 2005, led by Steven Collins of Trinity Southwest University. The site has been the subject of controversy due to claims linking it to the biblical city of Sodom, a hypothesis rejected by mainstream archaeologists. Other claims of a catastrophic destruction by an airburst have also been met with skepticism in the scientific community.