Qarassa Dolmen Field
حقل دولمن قراصة · Deir Qarassa Dolmens · Qarassa Megalithic Necropolis
Chalcolithic–Early Bronze Age (c.4500–3000 BCE), some PPN reuse·Leja megalithic (Ghassulian–EB I)·🇸🇾 As-Suwayda Governorate, Leja – Deir/Qarassa plateau, Syria
About
About Qarassa Dolmen Field
Chalcolithic–Early Bronze Age dolmen necropolis on Leja basalt, 0.6 km², 232 dolmens recorded by Ibáñez/Braemer 2010–15. Corridor, trilithon and chamber types with basalt capstones (up to 4 m, 5 t), oval cairns and cist enclosures oriented east-west. Associated with PPNB Tell Qarassa PN abandonment; EB I–II reuse with shaft tombs. Largest dolmen field in Syria, parallels Golan and Jordan Black Desert. Photogrammetry and geophysics document counting as first southern Levant large-scale megalithic landscape outside Jordan. Under military closure.
Why it mattersLargest Syrian dolmen field; PPNB village → EB megalithic transition.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why dolmens only after village abandonment?
- 02Kinship of cairn clusters?
Theories
- 01Pastoralist territorialisation after PPNB collapse
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.4500 BCE earliest cairns
- Period
- Chalcolithic–Early Bronze Age (c.4500–3000 BCE), some PPN reuse
- Culture
- Leja megalithic (Ghassulian–EB I)
- Builders
- Leja pastoral megalith builders
- Purpose
- Collective necropolis and territorial markers encircling Tell Qarassa
- Abandoned
- c.3000 BCE
- Rediscovered
- 2008 Braemer survey
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
c.4500 BCE
First cairn-dolmens erected
c.3600 BCE
Peak EB I chamber building
2010–15
Ibáñez photogrammetry and counts 232
On the ground
Structures & features
32.7200° N · 36.5000° E · 740 m · 3 mapped features
Qarassa Dolmen Field — Trilithon Cluster A
dolmenNorth-east trilithon dolmens with 3 m capstones
32.7210° N · 36.5010° EQarassa Dolmen Field — Chamber Dolmen C12
chamber3×2 m chamber with corridor and cairn
32.7200° N · 36.5000° EQarassa Dolmen Field — Cist Enclosure South
cistRectangular cist with east entrance
32.7190° N · 36.4990° E
Gallery