Kamid el-Loz (Kumidi)
Kamid el Loz · Kumidi · Tell Kamid el-Loz
EB IV to Iron II (c.2400–800 BCE; peak LB Egyptian)·Amorite → Egyptian–Canaanite (Kumidi) → Hittite → Phoenician·🇱🇧 Beqaa Valley, Lebanon, Lebanon
About
About Kamid el-Loz (Kumidi)
Bronze–Iron town (4 ha, 15 m high) at the Litani–Bekaa margin, German excavations by Arnulf Kuschke and Rolf Hachmann, identified as Kumidi of Amarna letters (Egyptian garrison). Sequence EB IV–Iron II with MBA palace, Late Bronze cuneiform tablets (7 Amarna-style letters), LB palace with Mycenaean import ware.
Why it mattersKey Beqaa Valley, Lebanon sequence for EB IV to Iron II (c.2400–800 BCE; peak LB Egyptian); egyptian administrative centre in the beqaa (kumidi).
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Chronology of Kamid el-Loz (Kumidi) relative to neighbouring centres?
Theories
- 01Regional centre hypothesis for Beqaa Valley
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- EB IV c.2400 BCE; LB Egyptian palace c.1400 BCE
- Period
- EB IV to Iron II (c.2400–800 BCE; peak LB Egyptian)
- Culture
- Amorite → Egyptian–Canaanite (Kumidi) → Hittite → Phoenician
- Builders
- Amorite communities
- Purpose
- Egyptian administrative centre in the Beqaa (Kumidi)
- Abandoned
- c. 600 BCE
- Rediscovered
- 20th century survey
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
1960
Foundation/earliest horizon
1980
Major excavations
2020
Conservation/monitoring
On the ground
Structures & features
33.5800° N · 35.8200° E · 915 m · 2 mapped features
LB Palace of Kumidi
palaceEgyptian-style palace with columned hall and tablet archive
33.5802° N · 35.8203° ECuneiform archive
depositSeven Amarna-related letters and legal tablets
33.5798° N · 35.8197° E