Dead City is a group of 700 abandoned settlements in the north-western part of Syria between Aleppo and Hama. Were established before the fifth century BC You can find the ruins of the Christian Byzantine architecture. The main town is dead Qal'at Sim'an, Serjilla and al Bara. Chris Wickham in the book? Framing the Early Middle Ages? (2006) argues that the buildings have a rural character with several features of urban areas. The impressive ruins are the remains of the cities that drew large profits from international trade in olive oil at the end of Antiquity.