TÜBINGEN - DAMASCUS
EXCAVATION AND SURVEY
PROJECT
1999-2005
Nicholas J. Conard
Editor
TÜBINGEN PUBLICATIONS IN PREHISTORY
Tübingen 2006
Published by the
Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte
und Archäologie des Mittelalters
Universität Tübingen, Germany
In cooperation with
Kerns Verlag
Tübingen Publications in Prehistory reflects the work of a cooperative project
between the Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology of the
University of Tübingen’s Institute for Pre- and Protohistory and Medieval
Archaeology and Kerns Verlag to provide the results of current research in
prehistoric archaeology and all its allied fields to a broad international audience.
Inquiries about publications or orders can be directed to:
Kerns Verlag
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und Archäologie des Mittelalters, Universität Tübingen, Germany.
Layout & Design: Knut Bretzke & Andrew W. Kandel.
Cover design by Kerns Verlag
© Nicholas J. Conard
ISBN: 3-935751-08-7
Printed in Germany
2006
Chapter 13
The 1999 Ma’aloula
Paleolithic Survey
N. J. Conard, A. W. Kandel, A. Dyab
Introduction
During October and November 1999, in connection with the excavations at Baaz Rockshelter, a joint
team of archaeologists from Damascus and Tübingen continued the preliminary survey begun in May
1999 in the Ma’aloula-Jaba’deen area. The survey has several goals. The initial goal was to determine
which Paleolithic periods are visible among the surface finds of the region. Other than the work by
Rust (1950) and Solecki & Solecki (1966) at Yabroud, very little research has been conducted in the
area. Thus the region represented a void in the distribution of Syrian Paleolithic sites. Beyond simply
identifying evidence for Paleolithic occupation, the Tübinger Damaskus Ausgrabungs- und SurveyProjekt (TDASP) aimed at examining the changing social and economic behavior during the
Paleolithic of the region.
To meet these goals, 18 days of survey were conducted between 10 October and 9 November
1999. Typically two people, separated by ca. 50 m, walked transects through the different parts of the
area of study. When lithic artifacts were spotted, depending on the circumstances, between five minutes and an hour were spent collecting surface finds. These finds were catalogued in a summary fashion, and a sample ranging in size from several artifacts to over 50 pieces was transported to the
research station in Ma’aloula for further study. The location, elevation and topographical setting for
each site was recorded in detail. Sources of lithic raw material were similarly recorded and the abundance of raw materials was recorded for each site.
Geographic Setting
The Ma’aloula Paleolithic Survey focused on the ca. 10 x 5 km area running southwest to northeast
along the Ma’aloula–Jaba’deen cliffline. The area was bounded on the southwest by the village of
Ath’thawanie and to the northeast by the village of As’sarkha, with Ma’aloula lying near the center of
the region under study. The survey aimed to achieve representative samples from five different
topographical zones running parallel to the cliffline that forms the most prominent geological feature in
the area. These zones include: 1) the low-lying hills southeast of the Ma’aloula-Jaba’deen cliffline; 2)
the steep slope below the cliffline; 3) the cliffline with its many rockshelters and caves; 4) the highland
hills northwest of the cliffline; and, 5) the highland plateau in the northwestern part of the survey area.
Archaeological Results
The survey identified 201 new sites within the area of study. Table 1 presents the chronological
assessment of the sites included in the survey, and Fig. 1 presents a simplified map of the region
291
N. J. Conard, A. W. Kandel, A. Dyab
including the location of all of the sites studied. Particularly noteworthy is the wide range of Stone Age
sites documented in the survey. Preliminary analyses based on typological and technological criteria
show that the Lower Paleolithic is represented by 43 sites, while the Levallois Middle Paleolithic is the
best represented group and includes 149 sites. The wealth of Upper Paleolithic sites, with 119 in all,
may be considered surprising given the relative rarity of sites from this period in Syria. Thirty-one sites
include material post-dating the Upper Paleolithic.
Period
Lower Paleolithic
Handaxes
Middle Paleolithic (Levallois)
Middle Paleolithic (non-Levallois)
Upper Paleolithic
Post-Upper Paleolithic
Indeterminate
Number of sites
represented*
43
6
149
12
119
31
12
* Results are based on preliminary analysis.
Table 1.
Paleolithic Survey. Number of sites per cultural group
represented.
While the final analysis is not yet complete, some trends are already apparent. Not surprisingly, rich
surface scatters typically correlate positively with the abundance of local flint. Although Levalloisian
sites are found in all geographic zones, they seem to be least common along the cliffline. In contrast,
Upper Paleolithic and later periods, as indicated by laminar assemblages and isolated retouched forms,
are comparatively abundant along the cliffline. In the other zones Levallois material dominates many
but by no means all of the surface scatters. Lower Paleolithic sites are present in highland and lowland
settings, and include both assemblages with isolated handaxes, as well as flake and blade assemblages
lacking bifacial tools. Lower Paleolithic finds are missing from the cliffline. Both highland and
lowland wadis were usually rich in sites, and especially rich in areas with high quality lithic raw
material.
With the exception of handaxes, retouched tools were often difficult to identify due to the geological damage to the edges of the flints. This problem was particularly acute among the Lower Paleolithic artifacts, which had suffered more damage over their longer taphonomic histories. The condition
of Middle Paleolithic assemblages varied from fresh to heavily weathered, while Upper Paleolithic and
later artifacts were usually fresh. Diverse, locally available flint and chalcedony from Pleistocene and
pre-Pleistocene gravels provided the preferred lithic raw materials in all periods. Locally available redbrown chert was knapped with comparatively high frequency during the Lower Paleolithic.
Although the function of sites is difficult to determine on the basis of surface finds, some differences in the composition of the assemblages were readily visible. As is the case in the Negev (Marks
1989), some sites showed unusually high proportions of cores while others showed high proportions of
flakes or blades.
Future Research
The greatest problem which the survey project encountered is the lack of stratified archaeological
materials for comparison with the surface finds. This deficiency can only be eliminated by conducting
further excavations in the region. While most of the sites identified on the surface were from settings
inappropriate for excavation, a small number of sites near water sources or in rockshelters and caves
offered reasonably good prospects for excavation. Such excavations should form a focus of future
work in conjunction with continued survey.
292
The 1999 Ma’aloula Paleolithic Survey
As’sarkha
0
LEGEND
1
2 km
Open Air Sites
N 33.88
Rockshelters and Cave Sites
Baaz Excavation
LATITUDE
N 33.86
Ma’alula
N 33.84
Jaba’deen
N 33.82
BAAZ
Ein Et’teeneh
N 33.80
E 36.50
E 36.52
E 36.54
E 36.56
E 36.58
LONGITUDE
Figure 1.
Ma’alula Paleolithic Survey. Simplified map of the 201 sites documented.
We would like to express our warmest thanks to the General Director of Antiquities, Prof. S. Muhesen
and to Prof. J.-M. Le Tensorer, both of whom provided essential scientific advice. Thanks are due the
University of Tübingen for financial support and Mother Superior Sister Pelagia and the nuns of the St.
Takla Convent for generously providing room and board for the research team and for providing us
access to their office and computer facilities.
Literature
Marks, A. 1989. Early Mousterian settlement patterns in the Central Negev, Israel: Their social and
economic implications. In: M. Patou & L. G. Freeman (Eds.) L’homme de Néandertal,
Vol. 6: La Subsistance. Liège: ERAUL 33, pp. 115-126.
Rust, A. 1950. Die Höhlenfunde von Jabrud (Syrien). Neumünster: Karl Wachholtz Verlag.
Solecki, R. S. & Solecki, R. L. 1966. New data from Yabroud. Annales Archéologiques Arabes
Syriennes 14 (2): 121-153.
293