Dibsi Faraj, Life of a Citadel on the Euphrates. Results of a Rescue Excavation from the Tabqa Dam Project.

This publication project, directed by Dr. Anna Leone, will produce the digitalisation of the archive and the final publication of archaeological excavations conducted at Dibsi Faraj (Syria), a Late Roman, Byzantine and early Islamic site on the Euphrates, between 1972 and 1974 by the late Richard Harper between 1972–74. Results of the excavation have only been partially published in a few papers during the 1970s, but a detailed final publication of this long-lived site is still lacking. Dibsi Faraj, thought to be the Roman Athis, Late Roman/Byzantine Neocaesareia, and Early Islamic Qasrin, is located in the Euphrates valley in northern Syria, and the site was excavated because the area has been inundated by the Euphrates Dam at Tabqa. The settlement was occupied from the first century AD with continuity into the 9th c., the excavation has identified a period of abandonment and a subsequent reoccupation in the 12th and 13th c. It was fortified twice: in the third century and then again in the between the end of the 5th and the sixth century. The complex also includes two churches, one inside the citadel and a martyrium outside of the city wall. Dibsi Faraj is very important for understanding the development of the eastern Roman frontier in the Late Roman/Byzantine period and subsequent change or continuity into the early Islamic periods. Moreover, the excavation has uncovered a large quantity of high- quality finds (including fine wares, 2 glass, and coins) and very fine geometrical and figured mosaics, reflecting the settlement’s wealth and importance. While the site is often mentioned in publications, only very little information has been made available up to now. A final publication is in the process of being submitted to Dumbarton Oaks for a final complete publication. In the meantime, it has been published a preliminary paper: Leone, A. & Sarantis, A. (2020). The Middle Euphrates and its Transformation from the 3rd to the 7th c.: The case of Dibsi FarajJournal of Late Antiquity 13(2): 308-351. The archive has been fully digitised and it is at the moment at the University of Durham (UK).

details of the mosaic of the citadel church (1973), Dibsi Faraj Archive – Durham University (UK)
Detail of the mosaic of the citadel church (1973), Dibsi Faraj Archive – Durham University (UK)
Detail of the mosaic of the citadel church (1973), Dibsi Faraj Archive – Durham University (UK)
Detail of the mosaic of the citadel church (1973), Dibsi Faraj Archive – Durham University (UK)