Between Land and Sea: Tell Mirhan and the Chekka Regional Survey

Abstract

In 2016 the Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology (OREA) and the Department for History and Archaeology at the American University of Beirut (AUB) launched a new archaeological project in the Chekka region in Lebanon. The Chekka region borders the shore of the Mediterranean and is situated between Batroun in the south and Tripoli in the north. At the northern end of the modern town of Chekka directly at the seashore one finds the remains of Tell Mirhan on the premises of a modern cement factory (Fig. 1). This tell and its hinterland have never been the subject of a thorough and systematic archaeological investigation. A survey conducted at Tell Mirhan in 2016 and an excavation in 2018 revealed an early Iron Age occupation (1200– 700BC) superimposing a massive rampart fortification of the Middle Bronze Age. Egyptian pottery from the Middle and New Kingdom as well as imports from Cyprus and Greece testify to the importance of this site as a harbour town during these periods. In order to investigate the site’s relation with its hinterland, a survey of the region from the coast into the foothills of Mount Lebanon was launched. To cope with a rather difficult terrain and intensive modern construction activities and changes of the ancient landscape, we conducted a LiDAR scan of the survey area in November of 2018.