Area S: Commercial Area
Located on flattish land to the south of the Housing Insula, the Area S complex (referred to earlier as the Stoa) measured approximately 77 m north-south and 35 m east-west, a total of around 2750 square metres. Major roads on two sides ran north-south, while there were quarries near the north and south boundaries.
Excavation was carried out by Peter Connor in 1989-1995 and by Heather Jackson in 2006, 2008 and 2010. Plans to excavate the southern part of the complex, and to remove baulks, were prevented by political events in Syria.
Prominent features include a colonnaded porch, two large courtyards, suites of rooms at the north and south, and rooms east of the boundary road (now designated Area Z).
The thick perimeter walls on bedrock belong to an early 3rd-century BCE phase. The main phase possibly dates to the reign of Antiochus III (222-187 BCE). An intermediate phase, after 150 BCE, has well-built, orthogonal walls on higher floors. The late phase, with non-orthogonal walls and re-used building material, has been dated to the first century BCE.
Major report:
- Heather Jackson, 'Area S. The Commercial Area', in Jebel Khalid on the Euphrates Volume Five: Report on excavations 2000-2010. Mediterranean Archaeology Supplement 10 (Sydney, 2016) 49-76.
Other publications
Ground plans were drawn in
1990,
1993,
2008,
2010 draft and
2010.
Phasing plan of Area S
Reconstruction of colonnaded building (S. Young 2016)
Field books
The Australian Mission to Jebel Khalid is a joint project of the Australian National University and the University of Melbourne.