Jebel Khalid is an archaeological site in modern Syria. Australian excavations starting in 1986 discovered the remains of a Hellenistic, Seleucid town perhaps founded by Seleucus I Nicator.Graeme Clarke & Heather Jackson: can the mute Stones speak ? Evaluating cultural and ethnic identities from archaeological remains: the case of Hellenistic Jebel Khalid* online The town flourished till around 70 BC and was then abandoned. The ancient name is not yet known for sure. Due to the political situation in Syria the excavations stopped in 2010.
The city stretches along the Euphrates and is surrounded by a wall, about 3.4 km long. Within the city wall are the remains of a governor's palace, a temple of the Amphiprostyle type Graeme Clarke: The Jebel Khalid Temple, in Mediterranean Archaeology, 2006/07, Vol. 19/20, pp. 133–139. and a palaestra. One insula was completely excavated.Heather Jackson: Jebel Khalid on the Euphrates, Volume 4, The housing insula, Sydney: MEDITARCH, 2014, A second insula was partly uncovered. Outside the town wall were found the cemeteries of the inhabitants.G. W. Clarke: The Governor’s Palace, Acropolis, in: G. W. Clarke: Jebel Khalid on the Euphrates: Report on Excavations 1986–1996, pp. 25–48.
The governor's palace was built in the early stages of the city's history, in the 3rd century BC. It consists of a Doric peristyle courtyard surrounded by various rooms. The excavators assume that these rooms were most likely used as audience, banquet and storage rooms as well as kitchens, but this is not entirely certain – the north wing, for example, has also been interpreted as a residential area.Publication of the excavation results: G. W. Clarke: The Governor’s Palace, Acropolis, in: G. W. Clarke: Jebel Khalid on the Euphrates: Report on Excavations 1986–1996, pp. 25–48. Further analysis: .
It is unknown which name Jebel Khalid bore in antiquity. Researchers have discussed as possibilities the place names AmphipolisSee G.W. Clarke et al. (eds.), Jebel Khalid on the Euphrates. Report on Excavations 1986-1996, vol. 1, Sydney 2002. and Thapsacus, both of which are known from written sources.
Bibliography Excavation reports G.W. Clarke: Jebel Khalid on the Euphrates: Report on Excavations 1986–1996, Eisenbrauns 2002, Heather Jackson: Jebel Khalid on the Euphrates. Volume 2, The terracotta figurines, Sydney: MEDITARCH, 2002, Heather Jackson: Jebel Khalid on the Euphrates, Volume 3: The Pottery, Sydney: MEDITARCH, 2011, Heather Jackson: Jebel Khalid on the Euphrates, Volume 4, The housing insula, Sydney: MEDITARCH, 2014, G. Clarke, H. Jackson, C. E. V. Nixon, J. Tidmarsh, K. Wesselingh and L. Cougle-Jose: Jebel Khalid on the Euphrates, Volume 5: Report on Excavations 2000–2010. Mediterranean Archaeology supplement, 10. Sydney: MEDITARCH Publications; Sydney University Press, 2016,
Further literature
References
External links
The Jebel Khalid archives maintained at the University of Melbourne