Locating Aramean Damascus

Aramean Damascus occupied a far smaller area than its Roman successor. What can be said with reasonable certainty is that it was located at a short distance -few hundreds of meters- south of the River Barada. Through a careful inspection of the landscape we can identify 4 artificial mounds labeled on the map as a, b, c, and d:

Mound or Tell a is located north of Via Recta in the Christian Quarter of Bab Touma. Tell b is to be found south of Via Recta in the east side of the Old City (formerly the Jewish Quarter). Tell c is in the Shaghour Quarter in the southwest part of Damascus whereas Tell d is adjacent to the Omayyad Mosque in the southeast direction. 

It is Tell d that in all likelihood corresponds to the Aramean City, a hypothesis supported by its situation contiguous to the Temple and near the River. Unfortunately, to postulate is one thing, to provide evidence is quite another. Excavation works in a city teeming with people and abounding with priceless historical monuments accumulated over thousands of years, a city that has been continuously inhabited since time immemorial, is well nigh impossible. 

What about supplying the city with fresh water? Damascus currently gets clean water for drinking and domestic usage through al-Fijeh, harnessed as recently as the early part of the 20th century. The Aramean City had to rely of Barada and its derivatives, the most ancient of which according to the French orientalist Jean Sauvaget's interpretation of the Old Testament (2 Kings Chapter 5 verse 12) would be Banias as follows:  

12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?

King James Version

Abana here stands for Barada and Pharpar for Banias, at least in Sauvaget's opinion. 

Be that as it may (and there is quite a bit of controversy in this regard), Banias with (later) the Roman Qanawat provide Damascus with the majority of its water needs. Banias enter the city heading from west to east to pass through the Citadel where it gives a branch in the south direction called Nahr Qulayt. Being the city's most prestigious landmark and oldest as well as grandest place of worship, the Omayyad Mosque receives its water from both Banias and the Qanawat. 

Richard Thoumin

Géographie humaine de la Syrie Centrale

Tours
Arnault et Cie, Maîtres Imprimeurs
1936