Tahun ben Aissa

Last updated
Tahun ben Aissa
Location Beqaa Valley, Lebanon
Type Tell
Part ofSettlement
History
Periods Neolithic
Site notes
Excavation dates1965–1966
Archaeologists Lorraine Copeland,
Peter J. Wescombe
Conditionruins
Public accessYes

Tahun ben Aissa is an archaeological site about 3.5 kilometres southwest of Joub Jannine in the Beqaa Valley in Lebanon. [1] [2]

Archaeological site Place in which evidence of past activity is preserved

An archaeological site is a place in which evidence of past activity is preserved, and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record. Sites may range from those with few or no remains visible above ground, to buildings and other structures still in use.

Joub Jannine Village in Lebanon

Joub Jannine is located in the Beqaa Valley in Lebanon.

Beqaa Valley valley in eastern Lebanon

The Beqaa Valley, also transliterated as Bekaa, Biqâ and Becaa and known in Classical antiquity as Coele-Syria, is a fertile valley in eastern Lebanon. It is Lebanon's most important farming region. Industry also flourishes in Beqaa, especially that related to agriculture.

This archaeological site, located on the left bank of the Litani was studied in 1965–66 by Lorraine Copeland and Peter Wescombe. Materials found included flints used for heavy chopping including trapezoidal, oval and rectangular shaped axes. A few sickle blades with fine denticulation along with some scrapers and an oval shaped arrowhead were found. Analysis of the recovered materials enabled Jacques Cauvin and Marie-Claire Cauvin to suggest that the site was contemporary with the earliest neolithic levels at Byblos. [3]

Litani River river in Lebanon

The Litani River, the classical Leontes, is an important water resource in southern Lebanon. The river rises in the fertile Beqaa Valley, west of Baalbek, and empties into the Mediterranean Sea north of Tyre. Exceeding 140 km in length, the Litani River is the longest river in Lebanon and provides an average annual flow estimated at 920 million cubic meters. The waters of the Litani both originate and flow entirely within the borders of Lebanon. It provides a major source for water supply, irrigation and hydroelectricity both within Southern Lebanon, and the country as a whole.

Lorraine Copeland was an archaeologist specialising in the Palaeolithic period of the Near East. She was a secret agent with the Special Operations Executive during World War II.

Axe tool or weapon

An axe is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has many forms and specialised uses but generally consists of an axe head with a handle, or helve.

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References

  1. Université Saint-Joseph (Beirut; Lebanon) (1966). Mélanges de l'Université Saint-Joseph. Impr. catholique. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  2. Copeland, Lorraine, "Neolithic Village Sites in the South Beqaa Lebanon", Melanges de l'Université Saint-Joseph (Beirut Lebanon) Volume 45, (Pages 83-114), 1969.
  3. Moore, A.M.T. (1978). The Neolithic of the Levant. Oxford University, Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis. pp. 436–442.