Nari in the Levant; historical and etymological aspects of a specific calcrete formation

The colloquial Arabic term nari has become, since the late 1890s, the most commonly used term for describing a specific type of calcrete formation in the Levant. While it is reasonable to expect that such a long period of time would be sufficient for the establishment of a coherent use of the term, a combination of extensive literature reviews with field observations prove otherwise. A study of the geological contexts and etymology of the term nari and a review of literature back as far as the second half of the nineteenth century reveal a great lack of consistency among scientists' use of the term. Correlating the terminological evolution of nari with present-day understanding of its formation mechanisms, its stratigraphic associations and contemporary uses of the term among scientists and local Arabs, allows us to propose a clear and consistent definition of nari. Our suggested definition recognizes it as a distinct surficial lithology. We show that the formation of nari in the Levant started in a regional calcretisation event in the late Pliocene to mid Pleistocene and is ongoing in the Levant nowadays.