Archaeology of Lebanon includes thousands of years of history ranging from Lower Palaeolithic, Phoenician, Roman, Arab, Ottoman, and Crusades periods.
Lebanon features several important Paleolithic sites associated with Neanderthals. These include Adloun, Chekka Jdidé, El-Masloukh, Ksar Akil, Nahr Ibrahim and Naame. [1] Byblos is a well-known archaeological site, a Phoenician seaport, where the tomb of Ahiram and the other Byblian royal inscriptions were found. An ancient Phoenician inscription on the tomb dates to between the 13th and 10th centuries BCE. [2] Byblos, as well as archaeological sites in Baalbek, Tyre, Sidon, and Tripoli, contain artifacts indicating the presence of libraries dating back to the period of Classical antiquity. [2]
Lower Paleolithic industries of Lebanon have shown similarities to Chelleo-Acheulean, Acheulean, Tayacian (the Tabunian of Francis Clark Howell), Tayacio-Levalloisian and Early Levalloisian with some caution suggested to be observed with the use of some early Levalloisian and Acheulean labels that may be confused with the Heavy Neolithic of the Qaraoun culture. Middle Paleolithic industries suggested include Amudian (Pre-Aurignacian), early Yabrudian, (Acheulio-Yabrudian), Yarbrudian, Micro-Levalloisian or Micro-Mousterian, Levalloisian, Mousterian and Levalloiso-Mousterian. Radio-carbon dating exists for Ksar Akil and Ras El Kelb. [3] Various other industries have been judged to be typologically similar to these along with one described by Henri Fleisch in 1962 particular to "mountain sites" for which the Mayroubian culture has been defined after its type site, Mayrouba. [4]
R. Neuville and Dorothy Garrod divided the Upper Paleolithic of Lebanon into six stages based on stratified sites in the surrounding area. Stage one has Emirian and transitional varieties, stage two was possibly evidenced at Ksar Akil. [5] Stages three and four have been termed Lower and Upper Antelian after the Antelias cave. Stage five is Atlitian, possibly developed from stage four. [6] Stage six is identified as Kebaran, of which there are many varieties of assemblage based on locality. [3]
Several early Neolithic (similar to Neolithic Ancien of Byblos or Amuq A) sites were found by Diana Kirkbride in the Beqaa Valley in 1964 and mentioned by James Mellaart in 1965. [7] The Neolithic of Lebanon was divided up into three stages by Maurice Dunand based on the stratified levels of Byblos. The first two stages, "Néolithique Ancien" and "Néolithique Moyen", were characterized by an economy based on a mixture of hunting and farming whereas "Néolithique Récent" displayed a shift to agriculture evidenced by fewer arrowheads and more grinding tools and sickle blades. [3]
Various other Neolithic industries have been found in Lebanon such as Trihedral Neolithic and Shepherd Neolithic. Henri Fleisch discovered and termed the Shepherd Neolithic flint industry from the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon and suggested that it could have been used by the earliest nomadic shepherds. He dated this industry to the Epipaleolithic or Pre-Pottery Neolithic as it is evidently not Paleolithic, Mesolithic or even Pottery Neolithic. [8] [9]
One particularly vigorous culture identified at over forty sites by Jesuit archaeologists in Lebanon is called the Qaraoun culture. This culture existed at the dawn of agriculture without pottery and produced Heavy Neolithic flint tools such as axes and picks to work with lumber, such as the Cedars of Lebanon. Their type site is Qaraoun II, located close to the El Wauroun Dam, Mount Hermon and Aaiha. [7]
The Chalcolithic was divided into two periods by Jacques Cauvin based on stratified levels at Byblos; "Énéolithique Ancien" and "Énéolithique Récent". The division is marked largely by differences in pottery more than flints with a few notable exceptions such as fan-scrapers. There are a large number of tells in the Beqaa Valley and Akkar Plain which have Early Bronze Age or earlier deposits including one under the Grand Court in front of the Temple of Jupiter in Baalbek. [10]
Descriptions of some of the tells in the Beqaa Valley were published by A. Jirku in 1933, L. Burkhalter in 1948 and A. Kuschke in 1954, along with a map of the Beqaa valley by Bernard Geze in 1956 that marked 50 tells. [11] [12] [13] [14] Another major survey of Lebanese tells was carried out between 1965 and 1966 with 88 tells recorded along with numerous surface sites by Lorraine Copeland and Peter Wescombe. Materials collected were presented for comment and identification to a 'panel of experts' that included Diana Kirkbride, Jacques Cauvin, Henri de Contenson, Maurice Dunand, Francis Hours, Henri Fleisch, Robert John Braidwood, Ralph Solecki, W.J. van Liere, G.L. Harding, H. Balfet, Olga Tufnell, Brian Gregor and Ziyad Beydoun. [15]
Lebanon contains a diverse range of ruins and remains of Ancient Greek and Roman temples. The premier attraction being the complex at Baalbek, including the enormous temple of Jupiter and outstandingly well preserved temple of Bacchus. It is thought that local villages attempted to create similar temples to a diverse range of Gods, leaving ancient shrines and vestiges to be found all around the country-side. This has led to the country itself being described an "open-air museum". [16] George F. Taylor divided the temples of Lebanon into three groups, one group referred to the Temples of the Lebanese coastal plain to Mount Lebanon, another group as Temples of the Beqaa Valley and another area with a particularly heavy concentration was defined as the Temples of Mount Hermon. [17]
During the 2006 Lebanon war, a number of archaeological sites, including World Heritage Sites, were damaged as a result of Israeli aerial bombardments in Lebanon. [18] A survey of the damage to sites in Lebanon was launched by UNESCO after the international archaeological community, including the director of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor, urged an investigation into the effects of bombing on "one of the planet's most heritage-rich countries." [19] UNESCO's team of experts found that the most serious damage resulting from the conflict was at the World Heritage Site of Byblos, where an oil spill resulting from the targeting of fuel tanks at the Jiyeh power plant had stained the stones at the base of the port's two Medieval towers, among other archaeological remains on the seashore. [18] [19] Mounir Bouchenaki, Director-General of the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) estimated that it would take twenty-five people eight to ten weeks to manually hand-clean the affected areas, placing the cost of the operation at some 100,000 USD. [18]
The mission also found that the main features of the World Heritage Site of Tyre, such as the Ancient Roman hippodrome and triumphal arch had escaped damage, but that frescoes in a Roman tomb at the site had come loose, likely because of vibrations caused by bombs. [18] It was also reported that the World Heritage Site of Baalbek was not damaged by bombs, with the exception of the fall of one block of stone and the widening of fissures on the lintels in the temples of Jupiter and Bacchus, likely due to vibrations from nearby bombings. [18] Also damaged by bombs, as noted by the mission, were the souk and some old houses in the Old City of Baalbek that were not part of the property inscribed on the World Heritage List. [18]
At a press conference revealing the results of the survey, Françoise Rivière, UNESCO's Assistant Director-General for Culture, reported on UNESCO's efforts during and after the fighting to draw the attention of both parties to their obligations to spare cultural heritage, as protected by the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, to which both Lebanon and Israel are States Parties. [18]
The recent increase in pace of urbanization in Lebanon has raised notable issues in the news regarding the Beirut Hippodrome and a suggested Phoenician port of Beirut. Non-governmental organizations such as the Association for the Protection of Lebanese Heritage have organized public demonstrations and co-operate with cultural activist groups such as Save Beirut Heritage to increase awareness of heritage conservation in the country. [20]
As well as emphasizing the value of collaboration and a multidisciplinary approach for cultural heritage conservation, we should place a high priority on the return of illegally trafficked Lebanese artifacts. [21]
Byblos, also known as Jebeil, Jbeil or Jubayl, is an ancient city in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. The area is believed to have been first settled between 8800 and 7000 BC and continuously inhabited since 5000 BC. During its history, Byblos was part of numerous cultures including Egyptian, Phoenician, Assyrian, Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, Genoese, Mamluk and Ottoman. Urbanisation is thought to have begun during the third millennium and it developed into a city making it one of the oldest cities in the world. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Joub Jannine is located in the Beqaa Valley in Lebanon.
Rayaq - Haouch Hala, also romanized Rayak, is a Lebanese town in the Beqaa Governorate near the city of Zahlé. In the early 20th century and up to 1975 and the outbreak of the civil war, it was Lebanon's most important railway center, where the 1.05-m Beirut–Damascus line met the standard-gauge line north to Baalbek, Homs, and Aleppo. It now has an air base and a hospital. Rayak Air Base was bombed by the Israeli Air Force during the 2006 Lebanon War. The landing strip was severely damaged as a result.
Ras Beirut is an upscale residential neighborhood in Beirut. It has a mixed population of Christians, Muslims and Druze individuals. Ras Beirut is home to some of Beirut's historically prominent families, such as the Bekhazi Rebeiz family, the Daouk family, the Itani family, the Sinno family, and the Sidani family family, the Beyhum family and others. Included in the area are a number of international schools and universities, including the American University of Beirut (AUB) and International College Beirut (IC).
Neba'a Faour, Tell Neba'a Faour, Mashna'et el Faour, Neba Faour or Nebaa Faour is a large, low-lying archaeological tell mound in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon inhabited in the late 7th and early 6th millennium BC. It was initially discovered by Lorraine Copeland and Peter J. Wescombe in 1965 near the road from Beirut to Damascus, 5 miles from the border with Syria. The site was mainly composed of soil and pebbles on limestone bedrock, the site showed heavy erosion since it was abandoned and recent damage from modern construction in the area. It has been suggested as an example of an aceramic stage following the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) that is called the Pre-Pottery Neolithic C (PPNC); sites of comparable culture are Tell Ramad, Labwe and others in the Byblos region. It is generally dated between the second half of the 7th millennium and the beginning of the 6th millennium BC.
The Museum of Lebanese Prehistory is a museum of prehistory and archaeology in Beirut, Lebanon.
The Sands of Beirut were a series of archaeological sites located on the coastline south of Beirut in Lebanon.
Qaraoun is a Lebanese village, 85 km from Beirut, known for its Lake Qaraoun in the Beqaa Valley formed by the El Wauroun Dam built in 1959. It is an ecologically fragile zone in the Western Beqaa District. The village lies about 800 m above sea level. The dam is located nearby on the Litani River.
Maya Abdallah Haïdar Boustani is a Lebanese archaeologist and curator of the Museum of Lebanese Prehistory at Saint Joseph University, Beirut.
The Mayroubian is a culture of the Lebanese Stone Age. Archaeological sites of this culture occur in the earliest, cretaceous, sandstone layer at altitudes of over 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) in the districts of Meten, Chouf and Kesrouan.
Heavy Neolithic is a style of large stone and flint tools associated primarily with the Qaraoun culture in the Beqaa Valley, Lebanon, dating to the Epipaleolithic or early Pre-Pottery Neolithic at the end of the Stone Age. The type site for the Qaraoun culture is Qaraoun II.
The Qaraoun culture is a culture of the Lebanese Stone Age around Qaraoun in the Beqaa Valley. The Gigantolithic or Heavy Neolithic flint tool industry of this culture was recognized as a particular Neolithic variant of the Lebanese highlands by Henri Fleisch, who collected over one hundred flint tools within two hours on 2 September 1954 from the site. Fleisch discussed the discoveries with Alfred Rust and Dorothy Garrod, who confirmed the culture to have Neolithic elements. Garrod said that the Qaraoun culture "in the absence of all stratigraphical evidence may be regarded as mesolithic or proto-neolithic"..
Ourrouar is a series of archaeological sites approximately 8.5 kilometres (5.3 mi) south southeast of Beirut, Lebanon. It is near Hadeth south on the north side of the Nahr Ghedir.
Ard Saouda or Ard es Saoude is a Heavy Neolithic archaeological site of the Qaraoun culture that is located in the Wadi al-Taym, between Rashaya and Marjayoun in Lebanon. It is south of the branch road to Qaraoun and Kaukaba at cote 990, on the surface of fields covered in large blocks of basalt, made from an ancient lava.
Khallet Michte is a Heavy Neolithic archaeological site of the Qaraoun culture located in the Caza of Bint Jbeil in the Nabatiye Governorate in Lebanon. The two sites Khallet Michte I and Khallet Michte II are located in adjacent wadis on south facing slopes between a track and the main road between Bint Jbeil and Ain Ebel. They were found by Henri Fleisch and noted to contain both Heavy Neolithic and Acheulean flint tools which are now in the collection of the Museum of Lebanese Prehistory at the Saint Joseph University.
Baidar ech Chamout, Baïdar ech Chamoût or Beidar Chamout is a small village located 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) northeast of Machgara in the Western Beqaa District of Beqaa Governorate in Lebanon.
Flaoui or Fleywe or Flaoueh is a small village located 17 kilometres (11 mi) northwest of Baalbek, Lebanon in Baalbek District, Baalbek-Hermel Governorate, Lebanon. It is located near the north–south road that runs from Bodai to Chlifa.
Khallet el Hamra or Khallet Hamra is a ravine or wadi joining the larger Wadi Yaroun located 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) southeast of Ain Ebelin the Bint Jbeil District of Nabatieh Governorate in Lebanon.
Douwara is a Heavy Neolithic archaeological site of the Qaraoun culture located 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) southwest of Ain Ebel in the Bint Jbeil District of Nabatieh Governorate in Lebanon. It is located on slopes north of the road from Ain Ebel to Rmaich.
Saraain El Faouqa is a village located 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) northeast of Rayak in Baalbek District, Baalbek-Hermel Governorate, Lebanon. Most of its inhabitants Shia Muslims and a minority are Maronites.
