Archaeology of Lebanon includes thousands of years of history ranging fromLower Palaeolithic,Phoenician,Roman,Arab,Ottoman, andCrusades periods.
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Lebanon features several important Paleolithic sites associated withNeanderthals. These include Adloun, Chekka Jdidé, El-Masloukh,Ksar Akil,Nahr Ibrahim and Naame.[1]Byblos is a well-known archaeological site, a Phoenicianseaport, where the tomb ofAhiram and the otherByblian 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 inBaalbek,Tyre,Sidon, andTripoli, contain artifacts indicating the presence oflibraries dating back to the period ofClassical antiquity.[2]
Lower Paleolithic industries of Lebanon have shown similarities toChelleo-Acheulean,Acheulean,Tayacian (theTabunian ofFrancis Clark Howell),Tayacio-Levalloisian and EarlyLevalloisian with some caution suggested to be observed with the use of some early Levalloisian and Acheulean labels that may be confused with theHeavy Neolithic of theQaraoun culture.Middle Paleolithic industries suggested includeAmudian (Pre-Aurignacian), earlyYabrudian, (Acheulio-Yabrudian), Yarbrudian,Micro-Levalloisian orMicro-Mousterian, Levalloisian,Mousterian andLevalloiso-Mousterian.Radio-carbon dating exists forKsar Akil andRas El Kelb.[3] Various other industries have been judged to be typologically similar to these along with one described byHenri Fleisch in 1962 particular to "mountain sites" for which theMayroubian culture has been defined after itstype site,Mayrouba.[4]
R. Neuville andDorothy Garrod divided theUpper Paleolithic of Lebanon into six stages based on stratified sites in the surrounding area. Stage one hasEmirian and transitional varieties, stage two was possibly evidenced atKsar Akil.[5] Stages three and four have been termed Lower and UpperAntelian after theAntelias Cave. Stage five is Atlitian, possibly developed from stage four.[6] Stage six is identified asKebaran, of which there are many varieties of assemblage based on locality.[3]
Several earlyNeolithic (similar to Neolithic Ancien ofByblos orAmuq A) sites were found byDiana Kirkbride in theBeqaa Valley in 1964 and mentioned byJames Mellaart in 1965.[7] The Neolithic of Lebanon was divided up into three stages byMaurice 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 fewerarrowheads and more grinding tools andsickle blades.[3]
Various other Neolithic industries have been found in Lebanon such asTrihedral Neolithic andShepherd Neolithic.Henri Fleisch discovered and termed the Shepherd Neolithicflint industry from theBekaa Valley in Lebanon and suggested that it could have been used by the earliestnomadicshepherds. He dated this industry to theEpipaleolithic orPre-Pottery Neolithic as it is evidently notPaleolithic,Mesolithic or evenPottery Neolithic.[8][9]
One particularly vigorous culture identified at over forty sites byJesuitarchaeologists in Lebanon is called theQaraoun culture. This culture existed at the dawn ofagriculture without pottery and producedHeavy Neolithicflint tools such asaxes and picks to work with lumber, such as theCedars of Lebanon. Theirtype site isQaraoun II, located close to the El Wauroun Dam,Mount Hermon andAaiha.[7]
TheChalcolithic was divided into two periods byJacques 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 oftells in theBeqaa Valley andAkkar Plain which have EarlyBronze Age or earlier deposits including one under the Grand Court in front of the Temple of Jupiter inBaalbek.[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 theBeqaa 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 byLorraine Copeland andPeter Wescombe. Materials collected were presented for comment and identification to a 'panel of experts' that includedDiana 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 ofAncient Greek andRoman temples. The premier attraction being the complex atBaalbek, including the enormous temple ofJupiter and outstandingly well preserved temple ofBacchus. 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-airmuseum".[16] George F. Taylor divided the temples of Lebanon into three groups, one group referred to theTemples of the Lebanese coastal plain toMount Lebanon, another group asTemples of the Beqaa Valley and another area with a particularly heavy concentration was defined as theTemples of Mount Hermon.[17]
During the2006 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 theBritish 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 theWorld Heritage Site of Byblos, where anoil spill resulting from the targeting of fuel tanks at theJiyeh 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 theAncient Roman hippodrome andtriumphal arch had escaped damage, but thatfrescoes in a Romantomb at the site had come loose, likely because of vibrations caused bybombs.[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 offissures on thelintels in thetemples ofJupiter andBacchus, likely due to vibrations from nearby bombings.[18] Also damaged by bombs, as noted by the mission, were thesouk 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 apress 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 theHague 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 ofurbanization in Lebanon has raised notable issues in the news regarding theBeirut Hippodrome and a suggestedPhoenician port of Beirut. Non-governmental organizations such as theAssociation for the Protection of Lebanese Heritage have organized public demonstrations and co-operate with cultural activist groups such asSave 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]
