CIPA 2003 XIX th International Symposium, 30 September - 04 October, 2003, Antalya, Turkey 
613 
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archaeological sites can be produced on the 
panchromatic satellite images. We have also 
produced detailed GIS maps from the sites A19 
and A 27 at Tar al-Sbai. A computerized 3-D 
animated view 13 km towards the western Plateau 
was constructed from the site A 27 which is 
located on a protruding spur. (See Tar al- Sbai 
with the visualisation of the site locations on a 
satellite map and views in a Power Point slide 
show: http://www.helsinki.fi/hum/arla/sygis). 
Preference to build and live at the edge of the 
escarpment is obvious at Tar al-Sbai, because the 
number and density of the remains diminish from 
the edge towards the central parts and summit of 
the mountain. Environment largely dictates the 
type of archaeological remains in the area. The 
plateau beneath is covered with dozens of square 
kilometers by accumulated open Palaeolithic sites 
exemplified with countless flint tools and debitage 
extending to the oasis of Al Kowm (see Fig. 1.), 
where a Swiss archaeological team is working. On 
the western piedmont area of Jebel Bishri we also 
encountered Late Roman graves in the 
neighbourhood of the Eastern Roman Frontier 
zone. 
The study of the riverine side of the mountain has 
started in 2003. As expected, it is covered with 
sedentary remains. According to our satellite 
image and photograph prospecting, several small 
tells exist between the mountain edge and the 
Euphrates. Radar equipments will assist in the 
study of the plateaus accumulated with silts 
beneath the mountain due to run-off mechanisms 
after the rainy seasons. Marble quarries used by 
Mesopotamian civilizations are already detectable 
in the area. 
3. CONCLUSIONS 
AND DISCUSSION 
LANDSAT-7 ETM image has served as a good 
source for general field surveying and mapping, as 
an aid for constructing topographical models and 
for environmental queries. The visualisation of the 
locations for the archaeological remains of mobile 
people is possible with the panchromatic channel 
of LANDS AT-7 ETM when the UTM 
coordinates have been obtained on the ground. 
However, our field study in situ in the region of 
Jebel Bishri, especially at Tar al-Sbai, made it 
clear that apart from the larger sedentary remains, 
the smaller structures such as the flimsy remains 
of nomadic and hunter-gatherer habitation sites 
remain undetectable with the LANDSAT images. 
Images with better spatial resolution are needed 
for the actual recognition of the remains such as 
rock shelters, stone circles and caims/tumuli 
representing mobile cultures. The CORONA 
declassified satellite photographs and QuickBird 
images are especially helpful for this purpose. 
In the study and mapping of Jebel Bishri region 
certain issues concerning the ancient remains of 
mobile cultures and their preservation have 
evolved. The representation of the hunter-gatherer 
or nomadic sites has been strikingly scanty in the 
protection works of the cultural heritage 
programs even if these sites provide landscapes 
with rich human past and are worth preserving in 
their genuine appearance. The focus on the 
cultural heritage of the sedentary remains and 
civilizations with written sources is dominating. 
Recently critical views have, however, been 
expressed concerning the imbalance, e.g., in the 
World Heritage List (see, e.g. Jokilehto 1998). 
For example, in the Near East the nomadic life has 
endured from the Neolithic Period and has shaped 
the local cultural thinking not to mention the past 
hunter-gather activity of mankind that easily 
exceeds the period of agricultural and sedentary 
life. Jebel Bishri offers grounds for studying the 
tent-based nomads' and village herders' past 
compared with the present day cycle in the region. 
The area has been a rich cultural and 
environmental mosaic for millennia.