GEOARCHAEOLOGY OF THE FLOODPLAIN SURROUNDING TELL QARQUR

Tell Qarqur is located in northern Syria, in the Ghab Valley along the Orontes River. A geoarchaeological project carried out during the 2010 field season investigated the ancient environment through a sequence of augering to the north and southeast of the site. Analysis of paleomorphology with CORONA imagery revealed the course of the Orontes' paleochannel to the north of the tell and historical maps identified a region of marshland to the southeast of the tell. Work completed to the north located a portion of the paleochannel. Augering completed in the floodplain around the southeast quarter of the tell explored the location of the former marsh and produced evidence of a frequently renewed landscape. Information gathered from local residents as well as pottery found in the augered sediments indicated the former presence of a seasonal, rather than permanent, marsh.