El-Qitar 2000 Overview

Abstract
Salvage excavations during the 1980s at el-Qitar, located in Syria on the right bank of the Euphrates river between Carchemish and Emar (36° 23" North, 38° 11" East) and dated primarily to the Late Bronze Age, revealed a small mountain settlement placed in a defensive position overlooking the river. Settlements comprising residential blocks divided by a planned system of streets were situated on the top and eastern slope of the mountain and joined by a rock-cut stairway. Both areas were protected by cyclopean defensive walls in addition to the rugged natural topography. Entry into the settlement was through two city gates with orthostat piers. In 1988 the site was destroyed by the construction of the new Tishreen Dam.

Publication of el-Qitar will offer valuable data on the Late Bronze Age, increasingly the focus of attention in Syrian archaeology and long of special interest to Palestinian, Anatolian and Aegean archaeologists and historians. The final report will provide detailed analyses of individual architectural units and urban planning. More than forty houses were identified by surface remains, and six were excavated in detail. In addition, studies of the spatial distribution of artifacts will contribute to the ability to understand social organization within such a settlement, and to reconstruct aspects of both daily life and military function. These analyses also enable consideration of the place of the settlement within larger regional polities and the nature of organization of those polities (McClellan 1997). The report will include a CD-Rom containing sortable catalogs of pottery and objects; a pottery typology with extensive illustrations, and additional photographs and plans from the excavations.