River Terraces of the Nahr el Kebir, NW Syria, and their Palaeolithic Record

Abstract

Revised correlation schemes are reported for fluvial and marine terraces in the Latakia area, NW Syria. These schemes indicate that the region has uplifted during the past four hundred thousand years at circa 0.4 mm a−1. The study region, in the Nahr el Kebir, is a rich source of Lower and Middle Palaeolithic artefacts but it is now clear that many of these have been reported from colluvium, not from in situ within the fluvial or marine deposits. However, the revised fluvial terrace scheme suggests the first appearance of Levallois technique in the region in MIS 8, consistent with western Europe.