Archaeological Sites in the Jazira Region of Syria from Neolithic to Islamic Periods

The Jazira region of Syria contains 1,694 archaeological sites mapped for a study comparing ancient and modern settlement patterns. Sites were identified using archaeological survey reports and French 1:200,000 scale maps from the 1930s, with temporal coverage spanning from the Neolithic to Islamic periods. This dataset was created by the University of Edinburgh as part of a larger environmental modelling project.

Use Cases

• Modeling ancient settlement distribution based on mapped site locations and toponyms.
• Analyzing correlations between archaeological sites and environmental factors like soil, hydrology, and precipitation.
• Comparing ancient trade routes and settlement patterns with modern land use and population density.
• Investigating subsistence activity patterns (farming, grazing) in relation to site location over millennia.

Strengths

• Contains 1,694 specific archaeological sites with identified locations.
• Temporal coverage spans five millennia, from the Neolithic to Islamic periods.
• Integrated with multiple environmental datasets (soil, geology, hydrology, precipitation) for modelling.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic and source bias inherent to the survey reports and historical maps used.

Provenance

Source

University of Edinburgh

Collection Method

Sites mapped using archaeological survey publications and French 1:200,000 scale maps from the 1930s.

Time Range

Neolithic to Islamic periods (spanning approximately five millennia).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-08 13:31:56.368224; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Jazira region of Syria, bounded by the Turkish border to the north, Iraqi border and River Tigris to the east, and River Euphrates to the south and west.