ABSTRACT
The area under investigation by the Ebla Chora Project (ECP) extends for some 3,500 km2. The limits of this area have been chosen according to the archaeological surveys carried out in the neighboring regions and with the aim to include the different ecological zones that follow one another in a relatively short topographical distance. One of the most important issues concerning the history of settlements in the hinterland of Ebla, and in particular the environs close to the capital itself, is the availability of water. The Matkh depression is characterized by fertile deep gray-brown soils and the groundwater depth is between 35 and 15 m. Aridity is the clearest and most characterizing climatic feature of the south-southeast section of the entire Area C. The spatial datasets available for this region include topographical maps, satellite images, aerial photos, and digital elevation models acquired at different scales and different times.
