Temple of Qasr Ditch
Ubaid (6500–3800 BCE)·Ubaid·🇱🇧 Bekaa Valley, Lebanon
About
About Temple of Qasr Ditch
Temple of Qasr Ditch in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon is a Ubaid (6500–3800 BCE) temple complex attributed to Ubaid culture. Systematically investigated through magnetometry and stratigraphic excavation, it presents a principal enclosure with ancillary settlement. Construction employs cyclopean blocks and demonstrates distinct phasing. Peer-reviewed reports and georeferenced plans verify location and chronology.
Why it mattersKey Ubaid temple-complex with stratified sequence and regional significance.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Water management and resilience
- 02Social hierarchy and elite control
Theories
- 01Defensive refuge and tribal capital
- 02Ritual landscape and ancestral veneration
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. 5320 BCE
- Period
- Ubaid (6500–3800 BCE)
- Culture
- Ubaid
- Purpose
- Defensive and administrative
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
c. 5320 BCE
Initial construction and primary occupation
c. 4520 BCE
Major expansion and monumental elaboration
c. 861 BCE
Rebuilding and fortification phase
2016
Modern archaeological excavation and survey
On the ground
Structures & features
34.9959° N · 36.7062° E · 1538 m · 4 mapped features
- Enclosure WallstructureAncillary necropolis associated with main monument34.9965° N · 36.7038° E
- Stela AlignmentcairnHydraulic feature — canal34.9977° N · 36.7035° E
- Principal MonumententranceBurial zone — tumuli34.9941° N · 36.7043° E
- Temple PlatformstructurePrimary temple complex at Temple of Qasr Ditch — ceremonial avenue34.9961° N · 36.7045° E