  Antelias Cave Location in Lebanon | |
| Alternative name | Mugharet-el-Bileni |
|---|---|
| Location | 2.5 km (1.6 mi) east ofAntelias |
| Region | northeast ofBeirut |
| Coordinates | 33°54′00″N35°37′00″E / 33.9°N 35.616667°E /33.9; 35.616667 |
| History | |
| Periods | Paleolithic,Neolithic |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1833, 1893, 1901, 1914, 1944, 1948 |
| Archaeologists | Gustaf Hedenborg,Godefroy Zumoffen,Raoul Describes,Auguste Bergy,J. Franklin Ewing |
| Condition | destroyed |
Antelias Cave was a large cave located 2.5 km (1.6 mi) east ofAntelias, 10 km (6.2 mi) northeast ofBeirut close to the wadi ofKsar Akil.[1]
The cave was discovered by Gustaf Hedenborg in 1833.Godefroy Zumoffen made an excavation in 1893, finding anAurignacian industry amongst large quantities of bones and flints.[2] He also found remains of a human fetus, which was only published in 1957 byHenri Victor Vallois and assigned to the Neolithic period.[3][4]Henri Fleisch re-examined the material from Zumoffen's excavation and concluded that it was not solely Aurignacian but showed evidence of successive industries present as late as theNeolithic.Raoul Desribes also excavated the site and found numerous tools made of bone including twoharpoons which are now in theMuseum of Lebanese Prehistory.[5]
Auguste Bergy also made a small excavation here and another sounding was made possibly in 1948 byJ. Franklin Ewing who described the industry as"transitional,Upper Paleolithic-to-Mesolithic".[6]Dirk Albert Hooijer studied the fauna from the cave and foundDama andCapra to have been predominant.[7]
Neolithic finds included a long, denticulated, lustrous blade. Collections from the cave can be found in theMusée de l'Homme, Paris,Museum of Lebanese Prehistory and theArchaeological Museum of the American University of Beirut.[1]
Antelias Cave was destroyed bydynamite in the spring of 1964 due to quarrying in the area.Lorraine Copeland andPeter J. Wescombe recovered some cave deposits from which they hoped to extract material forradio-carbon dating.[1]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)| International | |
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