ABSTRACT
The term 'Dead Cities' is perhaps a misnomer: 'Dead Towns' or even 'Dead Villages', whilst less dramatic, more accurately reflects the nature of the settlements. There are roughly three groups, corresponding to the low ranges ofhills in which they are situated. These are: the Jebel Shaikh Barakat and the Jebel Simean to the west and north-west of Aleppo, which include the best known of the Dead Cities comprising the monastery of St Simeon Stylites and associated remains; the Jebel Barisha and Jebel al-eAla to the west near the present Turkish border, which has the largest concentration of ruins; and the Jebel Zawiya to the south-west towards the Orontes Valley, where settlements are mainly a little earlier (Figures 45 and 46).
