By the village is a
Neolithic archaeological site East of
Majdel Balhis near
Rashaya in the
Beqaa Valley,
Lebanon. It was first found by P. Billaux in 1957 who alerted
Jesuit Archaeologists, Fathers
Henri Fleisch and Tallon. Open air site excavations by L. and F. Skeels were also carried out in 1964. The rock shelter site lies amongst fields covered with
basalt boulders from ancient
lava flows. It is in a low pass from the Karaoun Dam to Rashaya. This area is close to the 4 heads of the
Jordan River and is drained by feeders such as the
Dan,
Banias,
Hasbani and Upper Jordan rivers, North of
Hasbaya. Artefacts found on the surface included
flint axes,
sickles,
obsidian,
basalt vessels and
arrowheads dated to the oldest
Neolithic periods. Prominent artefacts found included a series of flint picks with heavily worn points due to extremely heavy usage. Fragments of agricultural tools such as basalt
hoes have been found with very slight dating suggesting the 6th millennium or earlier. Flints were not knapped on site and the centre of the hoe production has not yet been found. ==History==