"[citation needed] The unit of north and south tells create a defensible elevation similar to an acropolis surrounded on three sides by wadis.

[citation needed] The presence of a city wall first constructed in the Iron Age and enhanced under the Macedonians and Romans defined the defensible part of the settlement.

[5] The excavations have shown habitation at Abila from c. 4000 BCE to 1500 CE, and have yielded numerous artifacts, and unearthed remains of city walls, a temple, a large theatre, a nymphaeum, and a sixth-century church.

[citation needed] While several of its ancient structures have been excavated including aqueducts, tombs, gates and public buildings, much of it remains unexcavated, yet visible at the surface.

[citation needed] Polybius and Josephus mention the capture of the Ptolemaic city by the Seleucid king Antiochus III in 218 BCE.

[4] Abila was part of the Hellenistic city league known as the Decapolis, as proven by an inscription from the time of Emperor Hadrian (r. 117–138), in spite of it missing from the list given by Pliny.

[4] Archaeological evidence, including a temple, coins, and bullae, suggests that several deities were particularly worshipped at Abila, mainly Herakles, possibly in a syncretic form as Herakles-Malqart, combined with iconographic aspects of Dionysus; as well as Tyche and Athena.

[4] Abila continued to thrive in the Byzantine period and became a prominent regional Christian centre, as proven by the presence of several large churches.

[14][13] The main threats to the site have been identified as development pressures, insufficient management, unsustainable tourism, water erosion (rain and spring).

Both urban and agricultural development pressures are increasing in the area, due to its fertile soil, gentle climate and water availability.