Tell Ain el Meten is a tell in the area of El Meten in the

Rashaya District Rashaya District ( ar, قضاء راشيا) is an administrative district in the Beqaa Governorate of the Republic of Lebanon. Most of Rachaya's population are Druze with a Sunni and Shia and Christian Christians () are people who follow ...

, south-eastern portion of the

Bekaa Governorate Beqaa ( ') is a governorate in Lebanon. Districts Since 2014, Beqaa Governorate contains three districts: * West Beqaa * Rashaya * Zahle A law was passed in 2003 to separate Baalbek District and Hermel District from Beqaa Governorate to form a ...

of the Republic of Lebanon. It is located opposite the village of Sawiri. A Heavy Neolithic archaeological site of the Qaraoun culture was discovered by

Peter Wescombe Peter Wescombe (4 January 1932 – 25 November 2014) was a British diplomat, amateur archaeologist, historian and founding member of the Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes ( Buck ...

and J. King in 1966 along a track north of the Ain el Meten spring and about west of the road. The tell is cone shaped and composed of rubble stones and grey soil. Imported brown worked flint tools were found along with others made from

Nummulitic A nummulite is a large lenticular fossil, characterized by its numerous coils, subdivided by septa into chambers. They are the shells of the fossil and present-day marine protozoan ''Nummulites'', a type of foraminiferan. Nummulites commonly var ...

, Eocene flint in the fields on the lower slopes. Another type of brittle and drab-coloured flint found in the area was unsuitable for toolmaking. The material was determined to be of Heavy Neolithic or possibly earlier

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...

origins. Pottery was also found suggested to date to the Early Bronze Age and

Middle Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

. This was evidenced by

sherd In archaeology, a sherd, or more precisely, potsherd, is commonly a historic or prehistoric fragment of pottery, although the term is occasionally used to refer to fragments of stone and glass vessels, as well. Occasionally, a piece of broken p ...

s with flat bases, grey or cream burnishing. The grey burnished sherds were equated to the

Syrian bottle Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...

type. Various other sherds were found with finger impressed rims, to which could not be assigned a definite date. A handle from the

Cypriot II Cypriot (in older sources often "Cypriote") refers to someone or something of, from, or related to the country of Cyprus. * Cypriot people, or of Cypriot descent; this includes: ** Armenian Cypriots ** Greek Cypriots **Maronite Cypriots ** Turk ...

stage was also found along with traces of occupation in the Late Iron Age and Islamic periods. The site was largely intact in 1966 with terracing for fruit trees in the area and a rocky crest of the tell, which had been

plough A plough or plow ( US; both ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses, but in modern farms are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden, iron or ...

ed.

References

Great Rift Valley Archaeological sites in Lebanon Populated places in Lebanon Beqaa Valley Heavy Neolithic sites Neolithic settlements Rashaya District {{Lebanon-geo-stub