Ourrouar

Ourrouar is a series of archaeological sites approximately 8.5 kilometres (5.3 mi) south southeast of Beirut, Lebanon. It is near Hadeth south on the north side of the Nahr Ghedir.^[1]

Ourrouar I

Ourrouar I is 300 metres (980 ft) east of the bridge over Nahr Ghedir on a platform of sandy, brown soilNeogene conglomerates on sloping river terraces to the south of the road to Wadi Chahrour. The deposits appear to have been moved from elsewhere, so it is suggested to be a false site by Lorraine Copeland, who found it in 1964 and collected tools made out of shiny, yellow flint that were examined by Henri Fleisch and M. Gigout. Middle Paleolithic forms were found in including Levallois tortoise cores, point-cores, scrapers and flakes that are similar in form to the assemblage found at Mazraat Beit Chaar. Material is held by the Museum of Lebanese Prehistory.^[1]

Ourrouar II

Ourrouar II is 500 metres (1,600 ft) east of the bridge over Nahr Ghedir on slopes of cemented conglomerates behind two empty houses. The site was discovered and Heavy Neolithic material recovered along with traces of other morphologies by Peter Wescombe in 1965. Finds included a rough, celt-shaped axe, numerous short, heavy picks, a chopper, burins, flakes and blades in poor quality grey flint, several of which were rather large in size. Another smaller group of tools was found on the lower and western slopes made of flint that had patinated to white that included steep-scrapers and sickle blade elements. The lower slopes of the site were destroyed during new road construction. Material is held by the Museum of Lebanese Prehistory.^[1] Andrew Moore suggested that the station was a factory site for Heavy Neolithic tools of the Qaraoun culture.^[2]

Ourrouar III

Ourrouar III or Wadi Chahrour and Salikha a site detected in three locations along the riverbed of the Wadi Chahrour (or Wadi Ghedir) around 400 metres (1,300 ft) upstream, east of the bridge of the Beirut to Sidon road. Collections were made from the first two locations by Auguste Bergy with studies by Henri Fleisch and the third location noted by Peter Wescombe in 1965. Material from location one was mixed with some showing Middle Paleolithic forms including picks, scrapers, flakes and cores. Location two is a section in the 50 metres (160 ft) high banks of the stream on a bank of pebbles overlaying a layer of red sand. Henri Fleisch collected Middle Paleolithic appearance material from this red layer, which is suggested to represent a dry period where dunes covered the area. Location three was located west of the riverbed in the foundations of a building cut into the bank amongst terraces planted with olives. A red sand layer of 2 metres (6.6 ft) contained scrapers and cores overlies a deep layer of pebbles. This was covered by black soil containing a few flakes. Two wet periods intervened by a drier one were indicated and the material stored in the Museum of Lebanese Prehistory marked "Salikha".^[1]

Ourrouar IV

Ourrouar IV is a site where some Neolithic tools were found 600 metres (2,000 ft) to the west of Ourrouar II on a hill overlooking the road between Beirut and Sidon just north of the bridge. Evidence of a Roman occupation was also discovered on the site.^[1]

Industrial waste was continuously dumped into the bed of the stream covering the sites with building materials and destroying the undisturbed areas of the banks.^[1]

References

Archaeological sites in Lebanon
Aadloun Aaiha Aammiq Aaqbe Ain Aata Ain Choaab Ain Harcha Akbiyeh Akkar plain foothills Al-Bireh Amioun Amlaq Qatih Anjar, Lebanon Antelias cave Apheca Ard Saouda Ard Tlaili Arqa Baalbek Baidar ech Chamout Batroumine Batroun Bechamoun Beirut Beit Mery Berytus (Roman Beirut) Bustan Birke Byblos Canalizations of Zenobia Dahr El Ahmar Dakoue Deir El Aachayer Deir el Ahmar Deir Mar Maroun Dekwaneh Douris (Baalbek) Elaea (Lebanon) Flaoui Fadous Sud Hebbariye Hadeth south Haret ech Cheikh Hashbai Heliopolis in Phoenicia Hermel plains Iaat Jabal es Saaïdé Jbaa Jdeideh Jebel Aabeby Jeita Grotto Joub Jannine Jieh Kafr Zabad Kamid al lawz Kamouh el Hermel Karak Nuh Kaukaba Kefraya Kafr Tebnit Kfar Qouq Kfarhata Khallet Michte Khirbet El-Knese Kouachra megalith field Ksar Akil Labweh Lake Qaraoun (Ain Jaouze) Libbaya Lion Tower Majdal Anjar Mansourieh Maronite mummies Mayrouba Mdoukha (Jebel Kassir) Moukhtara Mtaileb Nabi Zair Nachcharini Nahle, Lebanon Neba'a Faour Nebi Safa Niha Bekaa Phoenician port of Beirut Plain of Zgharta Qaa Qal'at Bustra Qalaat Tannour Qaraoun Qasr el Banat Ras Baalbek I Ras Beirut Ras El Kelb Rashaya Roman Forum of Berytus Roman hippodrome of Berytus Sands of Beirut Saraain El Faouqa Shheem Sidon Sin el Fil Sarepta Stone of the Pregnant Woman Tahun ben Aissa Taire Tayibe Tell Aalaq Tell Ablah Tell Addus Tell Ahle Tell Ain Cerif Tell Ain el Meten Tell Ain Ghessali Tell Ain Nfaikh Tell Ain Saouda Tell Ain Sofar Tell Ayoub Tell Bar Elias Tell Beshara Tell Bir Dakoue Tell Deir Tell Delhamieh Tell Derzenoun Tell Dibbine Tell el-Burak Tell El Ghassil Tell El Hadeth Tell Fadous Tell Hazzine Tell Hoch Rafqa Tell Karmita Tell Khardane Tell Kirri Tell Jezireh Tell Jisr Tell Kabb Elias Tell Majdaloun Tell Masoud Tell Mekhada Tell Meouchi Tell Mureibit Tell Murtafa Tell Nahariyah Tell Neba'a Chaate Tell Neba'a Litani Tell Qasr Labwe Tell Rasm El Hadeth Tell Rayak Tell Saatiya Tell Safiyeh Tell Saoudhi Tell Serhan Tell Shaikh Hassan al Rai Tell Shamsine Tell Sultan Yakoub Tell Taalabaya Tell Wardeen Tell Zenoub Tell Zeitoun Temnin el-Foka Temple of Bacchus Temple of Eshmun Temple of Jupiter Tlail megaliths Toron Tripolis (region of Phoenicia) Tyre Necropolis Tyre, Lebanon Wadi Boura Wadi Koura Wadi Yaroun Yammoune Yanta Ain W Zain Zahlé