ABSTRACT
The dolmens that Palumbo observed around Kufr Abil are but one type of off-site megalithic feature found in the Wadi ar-Rayyan. This chapter presents an overview of the 350 features recorded at Tell er-Ras in 2007. The chronology of the megalithic landscape at Tell er-Ras is then considered. Just as the megalithic landscape of the Golan is best approached as a palimpsest of architectural traditions, so must consider the megalithic landscape of the Wadi ar-Rayyan a composite of off-site features built for different reasons at different times. In the late prehistoric periods, a megalithic mortuary landscape dominated the ridge, especially on the steeper, rockier southern and southwestern slopes on which most dolmens, standing stones, megalithic wall-lines and cairns are found. The monumental enclosure walls round the Early Bronze IV site of Khirbet Um al-Ghozlan adds a new dimension to the megalithic landscape on the ridge.
