A historical, archaeological, and geomorphological study of the Al-Ghab Plain in Syria

Abstract

Before its drying in 1958 AD, the Al-Ghab Plain represented a swampy area that gathered in two lakes, historically known as the Northern Lake and the Southern Lake (Afamiya Lake). After draining, this plain turned into a fertile land invested in the cultivation of several strategic crops. This contributes to its overcoming the imposed international crises and sanctions, especially the "Caesar's Law" on the nutritional level.  Since its drying, the efforts of the researchers have focused on enhancing the advantages of the drying process and optimizing its lands and irrigating them optimally, without addressing the negative aspects of the drying process and how to treat them, knowing the nature of settlement in the plain before drying it, and knowing the geomorphological transformations that occurred on the plain after the drying process and its impact on the surroundings of the plain.  This study is to investigate the aforementioned problems, depending on the historical and descriptive approaches in an analytical manner.