Ain Aata
| Ain Aata Ain Ata, 'Ain 'Ata, Ayn Aata |
|
|---|---|
| Village | |
| Country |  Lebanon |
| Governorate | Beqaa Governorate |
| District | Rashaya District |
| Area | |
| • Total | 22.40 sq mi (58.02 km2) |
| Elevation | 4,360 ft (1,330 m) |
 Shown within Lebanon
|
|
| Alternate name | Ain Aata, 'Ain 'Ata, Ayn Aata |
|---|---|
| Location | 99 kilometres (62 mi) east of Beirut |
| Region | Rashaya |
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| History | |
| Cultures | Roman |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | Ruins |
| Public access | Yes |
Ain Aata, Ain Ata, 'Ain 'Ata or Ayn Aata is a village and municipality situated southwest of Rashaya, 99 kilometres (62 mi) east of Beirut, in the Rashaya District of the Beqaa Governorate in Lebanon.[1]
The name is thought to mean "gift spring".[2] There is a remarkably cold spring in the area.[3]
The village was suggested by Charles William Meredith van de Velde to be the ancient site of Beth-Anath or Anatha mentioned in the Bible Book of Joshua (Joshua 19:38) and the Book of Judges (Judges 1:33) as a land given to Naphtali, where the local canaanites were subjugated to forced labor by the elite of the Israelite tribe. Eusebius in his work Onomasticon, placed it 9 miles (14 km) from Dora (Tanturah), however this falls outside the territory of Naphtali.[1][4] Beth-Anath has been translated to mean "temple of Anat", a canaanite goddess linked to a Sumerian predecessor called Ninhursag.[5]
Roman temple
Recent epigraphic surveys have confirmed the ruins of a Roman temple and cult site in the village that are included in a group of Temples of Mount Hermon.[6][7][8][9] Foundations and columns of a ruined temple complex in the woods near the village were recorded by William McClure Thomson, who thought them to have once been called Kubrikha. He remarked that "the whole neighborhood is crowded with ancient but deserted sites."[4]
-
HARVEY(1861) p177 CEDARS.jpg
Cedars, in the hills of Ain Aata (2 June 1860)[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "Thomson1859" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Mouterde, R., Antiquités de l'Hermon et de la Beqâ in Mélanges de l'Université St. Joseph 29, p.19-89, 1951-1952.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Ain Aata on Localiban
- 'Ain 'Ata on geographic.org
- Photos of Roman temples in the Rashaya area on the American University of Beirut website
- Roman Temples on discoverlebanon.com
- Ain Ata on wikimapia
- Ain Ata on geody.com
- Hebrew concordance entry for Beth-Anath, "Temple of Anat"
