Aadloun

Aadloun عدلون
Aadloun Location in Lebanon
Coordinates: 33°24′14″N 35°16′26″E / 33.40389°N 35.27389°E / 33.40389; 35.27389Coordinates: 33°24′14″N 35°16′26″E / 33.40389°N 35.27389°E / 33.40389; 35.27389
Country	Lebanon
Governorate	South Governorate
District	Sidon District
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)

Aadloun, Adloun or Adlun (Arabic: عدلون‎‎) is a coastal town in South Lebanon, 17 kilometres (11 mi) south of Sidon famous for its cultivation of watermelons. It is also the site of a Phoenician necropolis and prehistoric caves where four archaeological sites have been discovered and dated to the Stone Age.^[1] The evidence of human occupation of Abri Zumoffen (or Aadloun I) has been dated as far back as 70,000 BCE with occupation of Bezez Cave (Aadloun II) dating back even further into the earlier Middle Paleolithic.^[2]

Aadloun I

Aadloun I or Abri Zumoffen is a low cave and terrace at the foot of a cliff near a beach. It was discovered and sounded by Godefroy Zumoffen in 1898, 1900 and 1908 who found material thought to be either Acheulean or Mousterian. Dorothy Garrod suggested similarities existed to a final Acheulean (or Yarbrudian) industry of Tabun E. Along with Diana Kirkbride, she re-opened excavations in 1958 with another season in 1963 and found a pre-Aurignacian (Garrod's Amudian) blade industry in the deposits.^[3][4] D. A. Hooijer discussed the fauna of the site suggesting it included game animals and rhino.^[5] Materials from the site are now in collections of the Saint Joseph University, Beirut and the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge. The site is now owned by the Directorate General of Antiquities but the previous land owner carried out private digging that has spread deposits from the Aadloun II cave site over the area creating a false layer.^[1]

Aadloun II

Aadloun II, Bezez Cave or Mugharet el Bzaz is a cave on the east of the road heading to Tyre set into a cliff at an altitude of approximately 17 metres (56 ft) above sea level. It was first sounded with little result in 1898 by Godefroy Zumoffen. A major excavation was undertaken in 1963 by Diana Kirkbride and Dorothy Garrod who determined a sequence stretching through the Yarbrudian, Levalloiso-Mousterian, Upper Paleolithic and on into the Heavy Neolithic. Materials from the excavations were to be held by Saint Joseph University and the American University of Beirut. The site is owned by the Directorate General of Antiquities and a gate was fixed over the mouth of the cave for protection.^[1] Three distinct levels were determined. Level C was called Acheuleo-Yarbrudian with materials found that resembled level E at Tabun Cave. Level B was called Levalloiso-Mousterian and compared with level D of Tabun. Level C encompassed the Upper Paleolithic and onwards.^[2]

Aadloun III

Aadloun III is a site approximately 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) south of Aadloun with a Chalcolithic (Enéolithique) industry that was found by P. E. Gigues.^[1]

Aadloun IV

Aadloun IV was found by P. E. Gigues on the terraces below the village near the caves that have been damaged by quarrying. Local farmers have recovered several fine Neolithic and Chalcolithic tools from this area that are held by Saint Joseph University. Dr. Gigues collection was held in Beirut by a relative who charged a fee for showing it after his retirement to Morocco.^[1]

Materials recovered

Lorraine Copeland made a collection of mostly Heavy Neolithic flints from the site in 1966. Amongst the finds were massive trapezoidal axes, chisels, a chopper, points, a pick, rough scrapers, blades, cores and hammerstones. The finds led Andrew Moore to suggest that Bezez cave was a factory site for such tools.^[6]

References

Heavy Neolithic sites
Aadloun II Akkar plain foothills Akbiyeh Al-Bireh Amlaq Qatih Ard Saouda Baidar ech Chamout Beit Mery II Bustan Birke Dakoue Dekwaneh II Douris, Lebanon Douwara El Bire Flaoui Fadous Sud Hadeth south Jbaa Jdeideh I Jdeideh II Jebel Aabeby Kamid al lawz I Kefraya Kfar Tebnit Khallet Michte I Khallet Michte II Khallet el Hamra Mejdel Anjar I Moukhtara Mtaileb I Nabi Zair Plain of Zgharta Qaraoun I Qaraoun II Rayak North Sarepta Sidon III Taire II Tayibe Tell Ain el Meten Tell Khardane Tell Mureibit Tell Zenoub Wadi Boura Wadi Koura Wadi Yaroun Wadi al-Far'a Wadi Sallah

Archaeological sites in Lebanon
Aadloun Aaiha Aammiq Aaqbe Ain Aata Ain Choaab Ain Harcha Akbiyeh Akkar plain foothills Al-Bireh Amioun Amlaq Qatih Anjar, Lebanon Antelias cave Apheca Ard Saouda Ard Tlaili Arqa Baalbek Baidar ech Chamout Batroumine Batroun Bechamoun Beirut Beit Mery Berytus (Roman Beirut) Bustan Birke Byblos Canalizations of Zenobia Dahr El Ahmar Dakoue Deir El Aachayer Deir el Ahmar Deir Mar Maroun Dekwaneh Douris (Baalbek) Elaea (Lebanon) Flaoui Fadous Sud Hebbariye Hadeth south Haret ech Cheikh Hashbai Heliopolis in Phoenicia Hermel plains Iaat Jabal es Saaïdé Jbaa Jdeideh Jebel Aabeby Jeita Grotto Joub Jannine Jieh Kafr Zabad Kamid al lawz Kamouh el Hermel Karak Nuh Kaukaba Kefraya Kafr Tebnit Kfar Qouq Kfarhata Khallet Michte Khirbet El-Knese Kouachra megalith field Ksar Akil Labweh Lake Qaraoun (Ain Jaouze) Libbaya Lion Tower Majdal Anjar Mansourieh Maronite mummies Mayrouba Mdoukha (Jebel Kassir) Moukhtara Mtaileb Nabi Zair Nachcharini Nahle, Lebanon Neba'a Faour Nebi Safa Niha Bekaa Phoenician port of Beirut Plain of Zgharta Qaa Qal'at Bustra Qalaat Tannour Qaraoun Qasr el Banat Ras Baalbek I Ras Beirut Ras El Kelb Rashaya Roman Forum of Berytus Roman hippodrome of Berytus Sands of Beirut Saraain El Faouqa Shheem Sidon Sin el Fil Sarepta Stone of the Pregnant Woman Tahun ben Aissa Taire Tayibe Tell Aalaq Tell Ablah Tell Addus Tell Ahle Tell Ain Cerif Tell Ain el Meten Tell Ain Ghessali Tell Ain Nfaikh Tell Ain Saouda Tell Ain Sofar Tell Ayoub Tell Bar Elias Tell Beshara Tell Bir Dakoue Tell Deir Tell Delhamieh Tell Derzenoun Tell Dibbine Tell el-Burak Tell El Ghassil Tell El Hadeth Tell Fadous Tell Hazzine Tell Hoch Rafqa Tell Karmita Tell Khardane Tell Kirri Tell Jezireh Tell Jisr Tell Kabb Elias Tell Majdaloun Tell Masoud Tell Mekhada Tell Meouchi Tell Mureibit Tell Murtafa Tell Nahariyah Tell Neba'a Chaate Tell Neba'a Litani Tell Qasr Labwe Tell Rasm El Hadeth Tell Rayak Tell Saatiya Tell Safiyeh Tell Saoudhi Tell Serhan Tell Shaikh Hassan al Rai Tell Shamsine Tell Sultan Yakoub Tell Taalabaya Tell Wardeen Tell Zenoub Tell Zeitoun Temnin el-Foka Temple of Bacchus Temple of Eshmun Temple of Jupiter Tlail megaliths Toron Tripolis (region of Phoenicia) Tyre Necropolis Tyre, Lebanon Wadi Boura Wadi Koura Wadi Yaroun Yammoune Yanta Ain W Zain Zahlé

Sidon District, South Governorate
Capital	Sidon
Towns and villages	Aadloun Ain El Delb Anqoun Ansariye Deir Qanoun Al Naher Ghazieh Ghassanieh Irkay Kfar Beit Kfarmelki Loubieh Maghdouché Majdelyoun Matariyyah Miye ou Miye Qinarit Salhieh Tabbaya Zaghdraiya Zrarieh
Other	Akbiyeh Elaea Jebel Aabeby Sarepta