Jebel Khalid on the west bank of the Euphrates in North Syria is a purely Seleukid site, being founded early in the third century BCE on a virgin site and being abandoned in the early decades of the first century BCE. An Australian team has been working on the site since 1984 and the first volume of their Report on the archaeological finds includes accounts of the Main Gate, one of the thirty towers of the 3.4km of defense walling (the North West Tower) and the remarkably well-preserved Governor's Palace within the separate Acropolis.Futher volumes will cover the ceramics from the site (volume 2), a complete insula of domestic houses (vol. 3), and the public buildings, which include Stoas and a Temple (vol. 4). This will constitute a first full archaeological exploration of what was in all probability a Seleukid military colony, guarding this strategic area of North Syria, a more fully developed clone of Dura Europos,situated further downstream, in its hellenistic phase.
Please follow the link for a detailed description of the current Report and ordering information or write to:
MEDITARCH
Box 243, Holme Building
The University of Sydney
New South Wales, 2006
AUSTRALIA
ph/fax: +61 2 9351 2079
meditarch@archaeology.usyd.edu.au
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