Évolution démographique et modes d’occupation du sol en Syrie du Nord : les cas du Ǧebel Waṣṭāni, du Ğebel Zāwiye et des Marges arides (II^e-VII^e s.)

The three papers presented here sum up some of the results achieved by three archeological missions in Northern Syria. Focusing mainly on settlement and occupation dynamics, these contributions are dealing with methodological approaches dictated by geographical and archaeological features in each area: Ǧebel Waṣṭāni, Ğebel Zāwiye and northern Syria’s steppes. They successfully draw out common occupation patterns in these regions during Late Antiquity.

B. Riba, Démographie et dynamique de l’occupation du Ǧebel Waṣṭāni dans le Massif calcaire de la Syrie du Nord (IIe-VIe siècles)

The interest in the archaeological heritage of the Ǧebel Waṣṭāni, in the Limestone Massif of northern Syria, is fairly recent despite the privileged position of the ridge between Antioch and Apamea. Following the surveys carried out by Franciscans in the 1980s, several research surveys were conducted from 2002 as part of the “Syrian Mission of Banassara and Ǧebel Waṣṭāni”. They were undertaken over the whole mountain range, and in particular at the sites Banassara and Kefert Ἁqab. Currently, these surveys allow us to understand the conditions of settlement of Gebel Wastani, the characteristics of the implementation of rural housing, and the modes of development of village communities in the Roman and Byzantine periods. They are also an opportunity to consider the place of the ridge in the general evolution of the Limestone Massif.

C. Duvette, Le Ğebel Zāwiye (Massif calcaire de la Syrie du Nord) : l’architecture domestique reflet d’une évolution démographique

More than 200 rural settlements reflect the attractiveness of the Ğebel Zāwiye, the southernmost and largest of the limestone hills of northern Syria, between the 2nd and the 6th century AD. The growing population of this region during this period mainly resulted in the development of villages surrounded by agricultural parcels. We have an image still virtually intact of these rural settlements in some areas, and a description of their development is possible in terms of individual and related growth processes. The evolution of domestic architecture is one of the focuses of these studies.

M. Rivoal, Les fluctuations du peuplement antique dans la steppe de Syrie du Nord en question (II^e-VII^e siècle)

From the beginning of the Roman period, the steppe’s fringe of Northern Syria experienced a strong sedentary expansion eastwards which reached its peak towards the end of Byzantine period. During the last two decades, the “Arid Margins Survey” has drawn a vivid picture of this gradual conquest. However, many questions remain beyond the reach of surface surveys, such as occupancy duration or differences between Roman, Byzantine or Umayyad occupation on a same site. The very phenomenon of this expansion is still to be understood. It may have involved massive immigration of sedentary people from neighboring countries as much as nomad herder’s settling down.