The Underwater Survey at Tell Fadous-Kfarabida

As part of the American University of Beirut’s archaeological project at the Early Bronze Age Tell Fadous-Kfarabida in 2007, an underwater archaeological survey was conducted of the shallow coastal areas and environs related to the site.[i] Survey goals were to determine whether there were subaquatic archaeological materials relating to the tell, to ascertain if there were indications of a harborage related to the site, and to discover whether shipwrecks of any period lay off the shore of Fadous-Kfarabida.

The shore in the area of the tell is a mix of large rock formations interspersed with pebble and cobble beaches. A series of rock outcrops jut into the sea beginning in front of the tell and continue north to the small harbor of Fadous. South of the tell, the shoreline consists of a long cobble beach interrupted a kilometer or so to the south by a rock formation several meters high. The entire seafront is regularly beaten by westerly winds and waves, abating to short periods of calm.

The winds and waves create a strong underwater surge, pulsing into the shore and then pulling out. This high energy action has undoubtedly eroded the shoreline over the millennia, particularly in those areas not benefiting from the protection of the rock outcrops. The wave affect is present even at depths of 5 to 6 meters 30 or 40 meters from shore. As a result little sand accumulates in the area except in zones protected by geological formations or by the collapsed seaward faces of the surface rock formations. Some gravel is present in the lee areas of the rock outcrops, buts its presence and dispersal is not uniform. The gravel consists of well-rounded pebbles indicating their erosion due to the sea action over the eons.

Further out, perhaps some ten to twenty meters beyond the edge of the rock buttresses, increasing bottom depth lessens the surge of the sea to almost nothing although winter storms probably disturb these depths. In this zone the sea acquires a stark beauty and large swaths of sand appear, accumulating in broad depressions in the bedrock that run roughly parallel to the shore. Beyond this, large areas of bedrock covered with vegetation and other rock-clinging organisms predominate. The seascape is broken, fractured by canyons and fissures whose bottoms are covered with loose sand but little else.