Baidar ech Chamout, Baïdar ech Chamoût or Beidar Chamout is a small village located northeast of Machgara in the Western Beqaa District of Beqaa Governorate in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

. A Heavy Neolithic archaeological site of the Qaraoun culture is located in the area on the right bank of the Litani river, where the North Cheeta exits from a ravine opposite the

Dahr er Rimoul DAHR may refer to: * Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these ...

foothills. It was found by Henri Fleisch in 1952 in an area of approximately by in the fields around a

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were or ...

of the Machgara spring on a track approximately southwest of cote 853. It was described in detail in Fleisch's report of 1954 and again in 1960. Jacques Cauvin also examined and published details of the materials found, then stored with the Saint Joseph University (now the Museum of Lebanese Prehistory). The Heavy Neolithic pieces were considered identical to those found at

Qaraoun II Qaraoun is a Lebanese village, 85 km from Beirut, known for its Lake Qaraoun in the Beqaa Valley formed by the El Wauroun Dam built in 1959. It is an ecologically fragile zone in the Western Beqaa District. The village lies about 800 m abo ...

.Fleisch, Henri., Nouvelles stations préhistoriques au Liban, Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Française, vol. 51, p. 564 A later

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several part ...

assemblage was found thought to be similar to the

Neolithic récent The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

Byblos Byblos ( ; gr, Βύβλος), also known as Jbeil or Jubayl ( ar, جُبَيْل, Jubayl, locally ; phn, 𐤂𐤁𐤋, , probably ), is a city in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. It is believed to have been first occupied between 8 ...

consisting of

adze An adze (; alternative spelling: adz) is an ancient and versatile cutting tool similar to an axe but with the cutting edge perpendicular to the handle rather than parallel. Adzes have been used since the Stone Age. They are used for smoothing ...

s, rabots,

chisel A chisel is a tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge (such that wood chisels have lent part of their name to a particular grind) of blade on its end, for carving or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal by hand, s ...

s and cores. Another assemblage without any triangular points was tentatively suggested to date to the middle

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός '' palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone to ...

, although may actually be Neolithic. The area was under cultivation in 1966.

References

External links

Satelliteviews.net - Baidar ech ChamoutGeographic.com - Baidar ech ChamoutWeather forecast for Baidar ech Chamout
{{Archaeological sites in Lebanon Populated places in Western Beqaa District Archaeological sites in Lebanon Heavy Neolithic sites Neolithic settlements