Kamouh el Hermel

Kamouh el Hermel, Qâmou el Hermel, Qamouh el Hermel, Qâmoûaa el Hermel, Kâmoâ el Hermel, the Pyramid of Hermel or Hermel Pyramid (also known as God's Pyramid, House of El, the Funnel of Hermel or Needle of Hermel) is an ancient pyramid located 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) south of Hermel the Beqaa Governorate, Lebanon.

The pyramid has been suggested to date to the first or second century BC due to similarities with architecture of tower tombs of the late Selucid era at Palmyra in Syria. It was considered by William McClure Thomson to possibly have been of Ancient Greek construction, however the lack of inscriptions puzzled him as he thought the ancient Greeks to be a "scribbling generation". Thomson also entertained the notion, along with Charles William Meredith van de Velde that the construction may have been Assyrian.René Dussaud later suggested that although the reliefs resembled the Ishtar Gate, the edifice was likely a monument to the hunting prowess of a member of Syrian royalty from the first century BC.

Hermel

Hermel (Arabic: الهرمل‎) is a town in Beqaa Governorate, Lebanon. It is the capital of the Hermel District. Hermel is home to a Lebanese Red Cross First Aid Center. Hermel's inhabitants are predominantly Shia Muslims.

There is an ancient pyramid known as Kamouh el Hermel (Pyramid or Needle of Hermel) located about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) south of the town that is a popular attraction for local tourists.

Archaeology

Hermel plains

The Hermel plains are an area of low hills around Hermel, through which runs the Orontes river and several wadis, which drain into the Homs basin. The area dominates the north of the Beqaa Valley and reaches north to the border with Syria. A curious and unpublished archaeological industry exists from finds of stone tools in this area. It consists of generally small tools whose typology is limited. It was termed the Shepherd Neolithic industry by Henri Fleisch.

Hermel I (Mrah Abbas)

Hermel I or Mrah Abbas was discovered by P. Billaux and Maurice Tallon and is 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north northeast of Hermel, 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) before reaching Mrah Abbas, next to the road. It is located on an uncultivated sloping plain leading down 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the Orontes. The garden revealed the remains of ten dolmens, most of which were built on a larger foundation than the covered chamber. Some were perhaps not covered by tumuli and a few were evidently not built to have cap-stones on top.