International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume XL-5/W2, 2013 
XXIV International CIPA Symposium, 2 — 6 September 2013, Strasbourg, France 
This valley begins with 1- Hosn-Niha (1350m altitude) (Fig. 2) 
in a corridor facing the Northeast and then goes towards the 
south-east in the vicinity of 2- an ancient quarry (~ 1210m 
altitude) (Fig. 3) before moving downstream to 3- Nika (~ 
1100m) (Fig. 4) and reaches a kilometer away 4- the Begaa 
Valley. The latter is a corridor flat lowland oriented Northeast 
to Southwest. It is 970m above sea level and rises to 1050m 
around Baalbek. 
   
Figure 5. The site of Hosn-Niha and its various remains. 
Figure 2. The valley under Hosn-Niha sanctuary and village Map © J, Yasmine: Kanery 2007. 
QI Yasmine: May 2005. The village is surrounded by agricultural fields that are still 
cultivated today. The ancient trade route runs towards the East 
and continues towards Nha. 
2.2 The Niha site (Fig. 6). 
The Niha site includes many archaeological and vernacular 
structures that can be summarized as follows: 
° the main sanctuary that comprises one big temple 
(Temple A), a small one (temple B), a big altar 
> N foundation, a very ancient chapel remains, many 
Figure 3. The quarry of Niha. © J. Yasmine; May 2005. springs, a big channel draining the ritual water 
coming from the temples with a built-up cover, all 
included within a precinct which walls are today 
destroyed: 
  
  
Figure 4. The sanctuary and village of Niha over the Beqaa 
Valley. © J. Yasmine; May 2003. 
2.1 The Hosn-Niha site (Fig. 5). 
The Hosn-Niha site includes many archaeological structures 
that can be summarized as the following: 
° the main sanctuary that comprises one big temple 
(Temple A), a small one (temple D), a byzantine 
church, many cult rooms, one constructed spring, all 
included within a precinct with an entrance located in 
its east wall; 
e a small sanctuary located on a hill to the west of the 
main sanctuary; 
e two big quarries located to the north of the main 
sanctuary; 
° an ancient trade route along the valley; 
° the remains of a village to the south of the main 
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sanctuary; 
* many blowing springs that are dry in the early 
summer; 
*  rock-cut tombs at the village periphery. Figure 6. The site of Niha and its various remains. 
Basemap © DGA; Annotations © J. Yasmine; January 2007. 
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