DIFFERENT IMPLICATIONS OF A SPATIAL BOUNDARY Jebel Bishri between the Desert and the Sown in Syria

摘要

The mountain of Jebel Bishri forms a strategically important natural bastion on the Middle Euphrates in Syria. The mountain has been a natural, economical and political border zone for different cultures and empires. The area is environmentally limited with the Syrian desert and the irrigated fields of the river plain. The neighbourhood is the cradle of agriculture: the earliest cultivation at the village of Abu Hureyra on the Euphrates dates to ca. 9000 B.C. Remote sensing methods reveal the character of this natural frontier, which during the past decades has been combating against increasing desertification. Satellite images have been used in mapping and monitoring the area of Jebel Bishri. A 3-D-model of the area has been constructed fusing radar and satellite images. Environment has stimulated different formation processes and spatial patterning of the sites on the mountain compared to those of the riverine zone. The cycle of nomadism and sedentism is reflected on the lifestyle still today. The mountain is exemplified with the flimsy remains of mobile societies detectable only with the satellite images offering high spatial resolution. With the satellite images numerous tells, ruined towns or villages, have been detected in the green river valley that reflects the sedentary way of life and trading activities. Archaeology provides a long-term perspective to subsistence patterns and site development processes that helps to understand and plan enduring development in the area.