Ron Wakeman (Tell Jalul excavations, 2004?) photographs a lion/leopard carved on the exterior wall of the palace at Araq al-Amir (Jordan).
The 3rd c BC palace was at the center of a large estate in the Wadi al-Seer. It was surrounded by a lake and it is likely that the feisty feline functioned as a fountain with water flowing from its fauces!
The estate at Araq al-Amir belonged to a powerful Tobiad family known from sources inside and outside the Bible. See Josephus (Ant XIII 230–233) for more.
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