Jabal es Saaïdé
Encyclopedia
Jabal es Saaïdé Jabal es Saaide, Jabal as Sa`idah, Jabal as Sa`īdah, Jebal Saaidé, Jebel Saaidé or Jabal Saaidé is a Mountain in Lebanon near the inhabited village of Saaïdé, approximately 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) northeast of Baalbek
, Lebanon
.
Saaidé I & Saaidé II are archaeological sites of note in this area. In the summer of 1966, the Lebanese Army dug a trench at Saaidé I, and recovered a large number of tools and lithics including sickles, grinders, scrapers, chisels, awls and blades suggested to date to the PPNB or PPNA. Jacques Besançon & Francis Hours later discovered a Palaeolithic layer below the Neolithic
level, recovering knives, arrowheads, scrapers and retouched blades along with a fragment of a small, flat, cutting axe
.
Saaidé II, almost 0.25 hectare in size, was first excavated in 1969 by Bruce Schroeder from the University of Toronto
who found the site badly damaged by modern agriculture. Investigations have recovered a wide range of mortars
and pestles, scrapers, chisels, borers, retouched microliths, geometric and non-geometric microliths. One grave was found with some tiny skull fragments from an adult aged 45–50 years. Local fauna consisted of turtles, birds (duck
, goose
, eagle
) and mammals (badger
, lynx
, deer
, ox
, gazelle
, sheep and goat
). Jebal Saaidé is the only pre-agricultural village found in Lebanon
to date. Inhabitants seem to have hunted different animals including lynx, red deer, gazelle, and some aquatic and migratory birds.
Baalbek
Baalbek is a town in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon, altitude , situated east of the Litani River. It is famous for its exquisitely detailed yet monumentally scaled temple ruins of the Roman period, when Baalbek, then known as Heliopolis, was one of the largest sanctuaries in the Empire...
, 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...
.
Saaidé I & Saaidé II are archaeological sites of note in this area. In the summer of 1966, the Lebanese Army dug a trench at Saaidé I, and recovered a large number of tools and lithics including sickles, grinders, scrapers, chisels, awls and blades suggested to date to the PPNB or PPNA. Jacques Besançon & Francis Hours later discovered a Palaeolithic layer below the 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...
level, recovering knives, arrowheads, scrapers and retouched blades along with a fragment of a small, flat, cutting axe
Axe
The axe, or ax, 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...
.
Saaidé II, almost 0.25 hectare in size, was first excavated in 1969 by Bruce Schroeder from the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
who found the site badly damaged by modern agriculture. Investigations have recovered a wide range of mortars
Mortar (masonry)
Mortar is a workable paste used to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between them. The blocks may be stone, brick, cinder blocks, etc. Mortar becomes hard when it sets, resulting in a rigid aggregate structure. Modern mortars are typically made from a mixture of sand, a binder...
and pestles, scrapers, chisels, borers, retouched microliths, geometric and non-geometric microliths. One grave was found with some tiny skull fragments from an adult aged 45–50 years. Local fauna consisted of turtles, birds (duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
, goose
Goose
The word goose is the English name for a group of waterfowl, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also includes swans, most of which are larger than true geese, and ducks, which are smaller....
, eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
) and mammals (badger
Badger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...
, lynx
Lynx
A lynx is any of the four Lynx genus species of medium-sized wildcats. The name "lynx" originated in Middle English via Latin from Greek word "λύγξ", derived from the Indo-European root "*leuk-", meaning "light, brightness", in reference to the luminescence of its reflective eyes...
, deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
, ox
Ox
An ox , also known as a bullock in Australia, New Zealand and India, is a bovine trained as a draft animal. Oxen are commonly castrated adult male cattle; castration makes the animals more tractable...
, gazelle
Gazelle
A gazelle is any of many antelope species in the genus Gazella, or formerly considered to belong to it. Six species are included in two genera, Eudorcas and Nanger, which were formerly considered subgenera...
, sheep and goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
). Jebal Saaidé is the only pre-agricultural village found 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...
to date. Inhabitants seem to have hunted different animals including lynx, red deer, gazelle, and some aquatic and migratory birds.
Literature
- Besançon, J. Hours, F,. Une coupe dans le quaternaire récent. Saaidé I (Beqaa centrale, Liban), Hannon, 5, 29-61, 1970.
- Hours, F,. L'épipaléolithique au Liban. Resultats acquis en 1975, Colloque III, UISPP 1976, 9ème Congrès de l'UISPP, Nice, 130-196, 1976.
- Schroeder, H.B., Natufian in the Central Béqaa Valley, Lebanon, Bar-Yosef and Valla (eds.) 1991, The Natufian Culture in the Levant, 43-80, International Monographs in Prehistory, 1991.
- Copeland, L., Natufian Sites in Lebanon, Bar-Yosef and Valla (eds.) 1991, The Natufian Culture in the Levant, 27-42,International Monographs in Prehistory, 1991
- Ofer Bar-Yosef, François Raymond Valla,. The Natufian culture in the Levant, International Monographs in Prehistory, 1991.
- Soliveres, O., « Restes humains natoufiens du Jebal Saaidé (Epipaléolithique du Liban) », Paléorient, 3, p. 293-294, 1975-1976-1977.
- Churcher, P., « The vertebrate fauna from the Natufian level at Jebel es-Saaïde (Saaïde II), Lebanon », Paléorient, 20/2, p. 35-58, 1994,