Tell Jisr

Tell Jisr, Tell el-Jisr or Tell ej-Jisr is a hill and archaeological site 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) northwest of Joub Jannine in the Beqaa Valley in Lebanon.[1][2]

Tell Jisr
Tell el-Jisr
Shown within Lebanon
Alternative nameTell ej Jisr
Location1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) northwest of Joub Jannine, Lebanon
Coordinates33.64°N 35.778611°E / 33.64; 35.778611
TypeTell
Part ofSettlement
History
Foundedc. 8200-6200 BC
PeriodsPPNB, Neolithic, Chalcolithic
Site notes
Excavation dates1965-1966
ArchaeologistsLorraine Copeland,
Peter J. Wescombe
Conditionruins
Public accessYes

It was discovered in 1965-1966 by Lorraine Copeland and Peter Wescombe but the perimeter and extent of the find was not fully determined.[3] It is suggested to have been surrounded by fertile arable land suitable for crop cultivation and was likely a river crossing, situated on the east bank of the Litani. A large amount of material was collected by Henri Fleisch and M. Tallon which is now kept by the Museum of Lebanese Prehistory, part of Saint Joseph University.[4] Flint tools were of the heavy type suggested to have been used for deforestation, they included trapezoidal axes, choppers, a variety of scrapers including advanced fan scrapers, segmented sickle blades with fine denticulation and some obsidian.[5] The range of pottery found included stone and basalt bowls and vessels ranging from coarse White Ware to fine, burnished and decorated sherds. A spectrum of jar designs were found with some having red or cream washes. The materials show an established neolithic settlement with many similarities to Byblos and lower Jordan Valley sites that flourished until the Bronze Age.[6] The tell is also notable as the location of the discovery of a fragment of pottery called the McClelland Sherd, Tell Jisr Sherd or El-Jisr Sherd that shows incisions suggested to be the oldest alphabetic writing yet discovered.[7][8]

References
  1. Francis Hours (1994). Atlas des sites du proche orient (14000-5700 BP). Maison de l'Orient méditerranéen. ISBN 978-2-903264-53-6. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
  2. Council for British Research in the Levant; British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem; British Institute at Amman for Archaeology and History (1981). Levant. Council for British Research in the Levant. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
  3. Rolf Hachmann; Karl-Ernst Behre (1970). Bericht über die Ergebnisse der Ausgrabungen in Kamid el-Loz (Libanon) in den Jahren 1966 und 1967. Habelt. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
  4. Moore, A.M.T. (1978). The Neolithic of the Levant. Oxford University, Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis. pp. 469–475.
  5. Université Saint-Joseph (Beirut; Lebanon) (1966). Mélanges de l'Université Saint-Joseph p. 99. Impr. catholique. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
  6. Moore, A.M.T. (1978). The Neolithic of the Levant. Oxford University, Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis. pp. 436–442.
  7. Mendenhall, George E., The Northern Origins of Old South Arabic Literacy, The University of Michigan and Yarmouk University, Yemen Update 33:15-19 (1993) Archived 2011-07-09 at the Wayback Machine
  8. Iorwerth Eiddon Stephen Edwards; Cambridge University Press (1969). The Cambridge ancient history. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
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