Ain Aata
Ain Ata, 'Ain 'Ata, Ayn Aata | |
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Village | |
Country | ![]() |
Governorate | Beqaa Governorate |
District | Rashaya District |
Area | |
• Total | 22.40 sq mi (58.02 km2) |
Elevation | 4,360 ft (1,330 m) |
![]() Cedars, in the hills of Ain Aata (2 June 1860)[1] | |
Alternative name | Ain Aata, 'Ain 'Ata, Ayn Aata |
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Location | 99 kilometres (62 mi) east of Beirut |
Region | Rashaya |
Coordinates | 33°26′11″N 35°46′46″E / 33.436390°N 35.779446°E |
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) south-east of Beirut, in the Rashaya District of the Beqaa Governorate in Lebanon.[2]
The name is thought to mean "gift spring".[3] There is a remarkably cold spring in the area.[1]
The village was suggested by Charles William Merh 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. Historical geographer Ze'ev Safrai, disputing, identifies the biblical Beth-Anath with Bi'ina in the Beit HaKerem Valley of Upper Galilee.[4][5] Eusebius, in his Onomasticon, placed it 9 miles (14 km) from Dora (Tanturah), however this falls outside the territory of Naphtali.[2][6] Beth-Anath has been translated to mean "temple of Anat", a Canaanite goddess linked to a Sumerian predecessor called Ninhursag.[7]
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.[8][9][10][11] 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."[6]