Aaiha
Encyclopedia
Aaiha is a village
, plain
, lake
and temporary wetland
situated in the Rashaya District
and south of the Beqaa Governorate
in Lebanon
. It is located in an intermontane basin near Mount Hermon
and the Syrian border, approximately halfway between Rashaya
and Kfar Qouq
.
The village sits ca. 3750 feet (1,143 m) above sea level and the small population is predominantly Druze
. Wild wheat
s Triticum boeoticum and T. urartu grow in this area, also used for farming goats. There is a nearby tomb
of a muslim
saint
and a Roman
ruins thought to be a temple
or citadel
that is now totally destroyed Fragments of blocks and inscribed stones lie around the area, some having been used in the village dwellings and others covered in rubbish in the surrounding area. Dr. Edward Robinson
and Reverend Eli Smith
visited in 1852 and noted some of the stones were large, unbevelled and well hewn. Sir Charles Warren also later visited and documented the area as part of an archaeological survey in 1869. The temple was completed in 92 AD but only the western part remained when visited, located on the top of a hill overlooking the plain. It was constructed of blue limestone
with an entrance opening facing east and a sideways bearing of 78°30'. It has a cornice and base with Roman features in the Corinthian style and a frieze of the same style was laid nearby at the time of the survey. A stone with a Greek
inscription was found built into the western wall. The structure measures 37.6 feet (11.5 m) wide by at least 47.15 feet (14.4 m) long with an entrance to vaults underneath. A column found nearby measured 3.2 foot (0.97536 m) in diameter.
and enclosed by mountains and the ridge on the west. The plain is completely level with no particularly visible outlet for water, which occasionally floods the basin to a depth of several feet to form a lake. The creation of the lake is assisted by fountain
s that well up through a large chasm in the northwest and a smaller fissure
in the southeast. It has also been noted that when the waters subside, they drain down these fissures. Investigative potholers have claimed a permanent stream flows underneath these fissures. The smaller southeastern fissure was investigated and found to be 15 feet (4.6 m) in diameter, 8 feet (2.4 m) to 10 feet (3 m) deep with no sign of water at the bottom. Robinson did not record any investigation of the larger one to the northwest of the plain, which was not flooded at the time, during the Summer
. The villagers suggest the underground stream leads to and is the original source and fountain of the Hasbani river, the most northern source of the Jordan
river. This is notably similar to that described in the tale of "The Chaff of Phiala" in The Jewish War by Flavius Josephus. Josephus tells a geographically inacurate tale of a cavern in an ancient place called Phiala or Phiale (modern Birkat Ram
), discovered to be the initial source of the Jordan by Philip the Tetrarch
of Trachonitis
. He threw chaff
into Phiala and found it was carried by the waters to Panium (modern Banias
), previously thought to be the origin of the Jordan river. Josephus writes:
Edward Robinson commented that this story would appear still current in respect to this chasm and underground stream leading to the Hasbani. Some neolithic
flint
s have been recovered in this area, in the hills 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) north of Rashaya.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
, plain
Plain
In geography, a plain is land with relatively low relief, that is flat or gently rolling. Prairies and steppes are types of plains, and the archetype for a plain is often thought of as a grassland, but plains in their natural state may also be covered in shrublands, woodland and forest, or...
, lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
and temporary wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
situated in the Rashaya District
Rashaya District
Rashaya District is an administrative district in the Beqaa Governorate of the Republic of Lebanon.Most of Rachaya's population are Christians with a large Druze minority. Many people of Rachaya have left for larger cities in Lebanon such as Beirut...
and south of the Beqaa Governorate
Beqaa Governorate
Beqaa is a governorate in Lebanon with a population of 750,000 inhabitants.-Geography:The Beqaa governorate covers an area of 4,429 km². Béqaa is the primary center of Lebanon's agriculture. The Beqaa governorate forms the main geographical extension of Lebanon and it lies between the Western...
in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. It is located in an intermontane basin near Mount Hermon
Mount Hermon
Mount Hermon is a mountain cluster in the Anti-Lebanon mountain range. Its summit straddles the border between Syria and Lebanon and, at 2,814 m above sea level, is the highest point in Syria. On the top there is “Hermon Hotel”, in the buffer zone between Syria and Israeli-occupied...
and the Syrian border, approximately halfway between Rashaya
Rashaya
Rashaya , also known as Rashaya al-Wadi is a town in Lebanon, situated in the Rashaya District and south of the Beqaa Governorate. It is located on the slopes of Mount Hermon, south east of Beirut near the Syrian border, and approximately halfway between Jezzine and Damascus...
and Kfar Qouq
Kfar Qouq
Kfar Qouq is a village in Lebanon, situated in the Rashaya District and south of the Beqaa Governorate. It is located in an intermontane basin near Mount Hermon near the Syrian border, approximately halfway between Jezzine and Damascus.The population of the hillside village is predominantly Druze...
.
The village sits ca. 3750 feet (1,143 m) above sea level and the small population is predominantly Druze
Druze
The Druze are an esoteric, monotheistic religious community, found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, which emerged during the 11th century from Ismailism. The Druze have an eclectic set of beliefs that incorporate several elements from Abrahamic religions, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism...
. Wild wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
s Triticum boeoticum and T. urartu grow in this area, also used for farming goats. There is a nearby tomb
Tomb
A tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes...
of a muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
and a Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
ruins thought to be a temple
Temple
A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
or citadel
Citadel
A citadel is a fortress for protecting a town, sometimes incorporating a castle. The term derives from the same Latin root as the word "city", civis, meaning citizen....
that is now totally destroyed Fragments of blocks and inscribed stones lie around the area, some having been used in the village dwellings and others covered in rubbish in the surrounding area. Dr. Edward Robinson
Edward Robinson (scholar)
Edward Robinson was an American biblical scholar, known as the “Father of Biblical Geography.” He has been referred to as the “founder of modern Palestinology.” -Biography:...
and Reverend Eli Smith
Eli Smith
Eli Smith was an American Protestant Missionary and scholar, born at Northford, Conn. He graduated from Yale in 1821 and from Andover Theological Seminary in 1826. He worked in Malta until 1829, then in company with H. G. O. Dwight traveled through Armenia and Georgia to Persia. They published...
visited in 1852 and noted some of the stones were large, unbevelled and well hewn. Sir Charles Warren also later visited and documented the area as part of an archaeological survey in 1869. The temple was completed in 92 AD but only the western part remained when visited, located on the top of a hill overlooking the plain. It was constructed of blue limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
with an entrance opening facing east and a sideways bearing of 78°30'. It has a cornice and base with Roman features in the Corinthian style and a frieze of the same style was laid nearby at the time of the survey. A stone with a Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
inscription was found built into the western wall. The structure measures 37.6 feet (11.5 m) wide by at least 47.15 feet (14.4 m) long with an entrance to vaults underneath. A column found nearby measured 3.2 foot (0.97536 m) in diameter.
Aaiha plain, Aaiha lake and Aaiha temporary wetland
The village is situated on a ridge next to Aaiha plain, Aaiha lake or Aaiha temporary wetland, which forms a near perfect circular shape, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) in diameterDiameter
In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints are on the circle. The diameters are the longest chords of the circle...
and enclosed by mountains and the ridge on the west. The plain is completely level with no particularly visible outlet for water, which occasionally floods the basin to a depth of several feet to form a lake. The creation of the lake is assisted by fountain
Fountain
A fountain is a piece of architecture which pours water into a basin or jets it into the air either to supply drinking water or for decorative or dramatic effect....
s that well up through a large chasm in the northwest and a smaller fissure
Fissure
In anatomy, a fissure is a groove, natural division, deep furrow, elongated cleft, or tear in various parts of the body.-Brain:...
in the southeast. It has also been noted that when the waters subside, they drain down these fissures. Investigative potholers have claimed a permanent stream flows underneath these fissures. The smaller southeastern fissure was investigated and found to be 15 feet (4.6 m) in diameter, 8 feet (2.4 m) to 10 feet (3 m) deep with no sign of water at the bottom. Robinson did not record any investigation of the larger one to the northwest of the plain, which was not flooded at the time, during the Summer
Summer
Summer is the warmest of the four temperate seasons, between spring and autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice...
. The villagers suggest the underground stream leads to and is the original source and fountain of the Hasbani river, the most northern source of the Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
river. This is notably similar to that described in the tale of "The Chaff of Phiala" in The Jewish War by Flavius Josephus. Josephus tells a geographically inacurate tale of a cavern in an ancient place called Phiala or Phiale (modern Birkat Ram
Birkat Ram
Lake Ram is a crater lake in the northeastern Golan Heights, near Mount Hermon. The only sources of the lake are rain water and an underground spring. The water does not leave the lake to any other body of water...
), discovered to be the initial source of the Jordan by Philip the Tetrarch
Philip the Tetrarch
Philip the Tetrarch was son of Herod the Great and his fifth wife Cleopatra of Jerusalem and half-brother of Herod Antipas and Herod Archelaus Philip inherited the northeast part of his father's kingdom, which includes Iturea and Trachonitis as...
of Trachonitis
Trachonitis
Trachonitis was a region that once formed part of Herod Philip's tetrarchy. It now lies within the boundaries of modern Syria.It appears in the Bible only in the phrase tes Itouraias kai Trachbnitidos choras, literally, "of the Iturean and Trachonian region"...
. He threw chaff
Chaff
Chaff is the dry, scaly protective casings of the seeds of cereal grain, or similar fine, dry, scaly plant material such as scaly parts of flowers, or finely chopped straw...
into Phiala and found it was carried by the waters to Panium (modern Banias
Banias
Banias is an archaeological site by the ancient city of Caesarea Philippi, located at the foot of Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights...
), previously thought to be the origin of the Jordan river. Josephus writes:
Edward Robinson commented that this story would appear still current in respect to this chasm and underground stream leading to the Hasbani. Some neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
s have been recovered in this area, in the hills 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) north of Rashaya.