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CENTRE FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH

Archaeological Research in Northern Syria:

the Wadi Abu Qalqal Regional Survey

Mandy Mottram

The Australian National University, Canberra

Damascus University, Syria

The project aims to build a comprehensive understanding of the archaeology of the Wadi Abu Qalqal region in northern Syria, a largely unexplored area near the centre of the Fertile Crescent. High-resolution satellite imagery is combined with field investigation to document regional changes in settlement, environment and landscape from c.16,000 BC to the present day.

Read below and follow the links to learn more about the Survey.


	Survey team working at Tell Rumeilah, on the banks of the Euphrates River, 2006.		Inspecting the remains of an Early Islamic nomadic encampment, Jebel el-JaÕadeh, 2006.

In 2004 a pilot study was conducted with the support of two CAR 'New Initiatives' Grants and the assistance of the ANU/University of Melbourne team excavating at Jebel Khalid. This was followed in 2006 by intensive investigations of areas adjacent to Jebel Khalid. The results so far have revealed numerous previously unrecognised features that will require significant reassessment of the history of the region.

Where is it?

The survey area is located in northern Syria, about 50 km south of the Syrian-Turkish border, on the western side of the Euphrates River. It is some 120km from SyriaÕs 2nd largest city, Aleppo.

The research region (almost 900 square km in area) focuses on a drainage basin watered by the Nahr ('River') Abu Qalqal. The countryside is mostly agricultural, with irrigated crops of wheat, cotton or sesame on the lower land, and dry farmed barley and grazing for sheep and goats on the less fertile uplands.

The region is significant because throughout history, the Euphrates has functioned as both a major conduit for people, goods and ideas, and as a boundary between the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian cultural zones. The study area is located at the interface between these two cultural regions, making it an ideal location to examine major issues relating to the diffusion of culture and ideas.

Below: Google Maps image, showing areas investigated in the preliminary work.

Why a survey?

There is a major gap in our understanding of the Syrian Euphrates region because research has concentrated on the urban centres and tells that have traditionally been the focus of Middle Eastern archaeology. These sites represent only one element in a complex physical and cultural landscape, and their excavation has given us only a narrowly-based understanding of past cultures and their environment.
While recent excavations have revealed the significance of these sites, the archaeological history of the surrounding territory and the relationships between the known sites and their hinterland remain unknown. The project is adopting a landscape archaeology approach, combining excavation data with new survey-derived data on habitation, geomorphlogy and vegetation to build a comprehensive understanding of the region's past.
The availability of irrigation water from the new Tishriin Dam is driving rapid agricultural growth, with consequent destruction of archaeological features. The survey may be our best and probably final opportunity to recover information about ancient human activity in this important region.

What has been found?

To date the project has used high-resolution CORONA "spy" satellite images from the 1960s to guide work on the ground. These images provide good resolution of around 2.5 metres (much better than current Google maps, for example), and are also a valuable historical record because they show many features as they were prior to the agricultural development of the region. The images are examined for anomalous features such as non-natural mounding, architectural remains, or linear features indicating possible ancient roadways.

(above) Example of the detail available with the CORONA images. this image (covering about 700 x 500 metres) shows the village of Tell Banat in 1968, Individual houses are clearly visible. Note the remains of a Bronze Age earthern wall around the village, and the conical ceremonial mound at upper right. This area has since been flooded by the new Dam.

Pilot Study (2004)

The Pilot Study sought to test the value of using CORONA images to guide an intensive survey of part of the Wadi Abu Qalqal, and other selected areas. Some 18 new sites were identified, including several Iron Age, Persian, Late Roman/Byzantine and Early Islamic occupations along the Wadi. Sites were also located to the south, along the Nahr el-Homr, notably Mudawwar, a significant Early Bronze Age fortified town covering some 24 ha.
The pilot study also located a major Byzantine settlement on top of Jebel Dor Dada. This major structure (about 30 x 25M) was probably a basilica with monastic functions. It appears to have been levelled by an earthquake.


	CORONA image taken in November 1968- the Early Bronze Age site of Mudawwar.		Early Bronze Age rampart and glacis at Mudawwar.

(left) 'Sacred Way' or rock-cut staircase, Jebel Dor Dada


	Wall at eastern end of basilica, Jebel Dor Dada.		Remains of Ottoman mill at Tell el-ÔArish.

Environs of Jebel Khalid (2006)

In 2006, the survey examined areas adjacent to the Hellenistic fortress site of Jebel Khalid. Notable finds included Early Islamic pottery factories, a hilltop complex of megalithic tombs that may date to the Early Bronze Age, evidence for Middle Palaeolithic occupation of Jebel Khalid, and widespread occurrence of early Islamic farming and pastoral activity.


	CORONA image of the area examined in 2006.		Typical landscape covered by the survey- looking north towards Jebel el-Ja'adeh. Dry barley and grazing country, with scattered farm buildings. Arrow points to the site of a probable Early Islamic nomadic encampment.


	Dolman with three uprights, one collapsed inwards. Jebel el-JaÕadeh summit.		Levallois-Mousterian points, flakes and blades from Jebel Khalid.


	Early Islamic amphora waster from the Khirbet Khalid kilns.		Blue-green glazed and splashed sgraffito pottery, Mazra'at Rumeilah.


	Panoramic view of Tell Rumeilah looking east from Jebel Khalid across the Euphrates River. Evidence of pottery production ('wasters' and ash-tainted soil) stretched across the foreground from the Tell to the track on the right of the scene.

What have we learned so far?

Although only small sample areas have been surveyed, the evidence shows already that the region has a much more diverse occupation history than previously thought, eg.

Byzantine and Early Islamic remains are widespread and suggest closely populated, prosperous communities. Contrary to previous assessments, the region was not a backwater during these periods.
Contrary to earlier suggestions, Iron Age occupation was common along the Wadi Abu Qalqal. Several of these sites were occupied during the Hellenistic period as well.
The Megalithic dolmens found on the summits of some peaks, suggest that because of the association of these monuments with pastoralist peoples, nomadic pastoralism played a major socioeconomic role during some periods. This is the first time that such structures have been found in the Euphrates valley.

Clearly, this work has only scratched the surface. We expect that future field seasons will allow us to discover and understand more of the occupation history of this important region.