Yanta (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: ينطا), is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

situated in

Rashaya District Rashaya District () 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 minority. Many people of Rachaya have left for larger cities in Leb ...

Beqaa Governorate Beqaa ( ') is a governorate in Lebanon and one of the eight districts of the country. It is located in the eastern part of Lebanon and borders with Syria. The capital of the district is the city of Zahlé. Districts Since 2014, Beqaa Governorate ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, from

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

. It is located close to the

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

border north of

Kfar Qouq Kfar Qouq (and variations of spelling) 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 Jez ...

. The village sits about above sea level. The name is variously claimed to mean "God sows" or "God the sower" in Semitic, "white dove" in Syriac and "elevation" in

.Qada' (Caza) Rachaya - Promenade Tourist Brochure, published by The Lebanese Ministry of Tourism
/ref> It has been noted that a special type of yellow

marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, Clay minerals, clays, and silt. When Lithification, hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. M ...

(lake sediments) has been noticed in Yanta and the surrounding area dated to the Oxfordian. In 2001 and 2002, archaeological studies were carried out at

Kamid al lawz Kamid el-Loz, also spelled Kamid al-Lawz, is located in West Bekaa, Lebanon. The settlement has a population numbering several thousand, mostly Sunni, people and is also a site of archaeological excavations. History In 1838, Eli Smith noted ...

near Yanta that unearthed a large amount of

Ancient Greek pottery Pottery, due to its relative durability, comprises a large part of the archaeological record of ancient Greece, and since there is so much of it (over 100,000 painted vases are recorded in the Corpus vasorum antiquorum), it has exerted a dispro ...

Roman temple

There are ruins of an impressively sized and positioned

Roman temple Ancient Roman temples were among the most important buildings in culture of ancient Rome, Roman culture, and some of the richest buildings in Architecture of ancient Rome, Roman architecture, though only a few survive in any sort of complete ...

in the area that is presumed to have been built on the site of a forerunning Semitic temple. The ruins lie on either side of the road and are sparse but retain some upright stones. Around the site are remnants of ancient habitation and tombs.

References

External links

Ikema guide to Lebanon - Yanta

Localiban Entry on Yanta

The Lebanon Mountain Trail Project

* ttp://ddc.aub.edu.lb/projects/mot/photobase/images/MT5/JPEG0048.html American University of Beirut - Image of Yanta Roman Temple 2 {{Portal, Lebanon, History, Asia Populated places in Rashaya District Archaeological sites in Lebanon Ancient Roman temples