The Archaeology of Lebanon (15 March 2024)
Presented Online
Nicholas Hardwick
Lebanon is a country with a rich history stretching back many centuries, and the many civilisations which have occupied the region have left significant traces which have been recovered by archaeological excavations. The material remains both in museums and from excavations have been studied extensively and allow the reconstruction of the history of the region in conjunction with documentary sources.
Important archaeological sites are found throughout Lebanon and in the neighbouring countries. Some remains have always been visible above ground, but others have been recovered as a result of excavations.
This lecture will discuss archaeological sites and finds from the prehistoric period until the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans, with some later examples. Important sites of castles exist from later periods, especially from the time of the Crusades, a series of wars fought from AD 1095 until 1291, with the aim of freeing Jerusalem and the Holy Land, which is presently largely the region of Israel, from Islamic dominance, and these are discussed in another lecture on the website, entitled ‘The Castles of Lebanon’.
Extensive archaeological investigations took place during the period of the French Mandate for Syria and Lebanon (in French, Mandat pour la Syrie et le Liban), which lasted between 1923 and 1946. Of the French scholars, René Dussaud (1868-1958) was a leading figure in the archaeology of the region, including of the Phoenicians, and was curator of the Department of Near Eastern Antiquities at the Louvre Museum. Henri Seyrig (1895-1973) was Director General of Antiquities of Syria and Lebanon from 1929. He established the Institute of Archaeology of Beirut, of which he was the director for twenty years.
Research and excavation has been conducted since 1946 by Lebanese scholars, such as Maurice Chehab (1904-94), the long term director of the Antiquities Service in Lebanon, but people from other countries are very active also. The important excavations were at Tyre, which were conducted by Chehab, and in the sea at Tyre, which were conducted by the Cypriot born Honor Frost (1917-2010), who was a pioneer of underwater archaeology.
One of the most important sites is Baalbek in the east of the country in the Beqaa Valley, not far from Toula, which is significant for its two major temples from the Roman period, the Temple of Jupiter, probably dated to the late first century BC and the first half of the first century AD, and the Temple of Bacchus, probably dated to the second century AD, as well as the remains of other structures. The Roman god Jupiter, whose Greek equivalent is Zeus, was the king of gods in Greco-Roman mythology, and the Roman god Bacchus, whose Greek equivalent is Dionysos, was the god of wine.
Associated with the construction of the temples are the ‘Baalbek Stones’, which are six large worked stones, including the largest worked stone known from antiquity, the ‘Forgotten Stone’. Three of them, known as the ‘Trilithon’, which means in Greek, the ‘Three Stones’, are built into the foundations of the Temple of Jupiter, and each weigh an estimated 750-800 tonnes.
To the south-east of the Temple of Jupiter are the Temple of the Muses, built during the first century AD, and the so-called Temple of Venus, which dates to the third century AD. There were nine Muses in Greco-Roman mythology, to each of which was attributed an area of the arts. The Roman goddess Venus, whose Greek equivalent is Aphrodite, was the goddess of love.
On a nearby Sheikh Abdallah Hill is the great processional staircase leading to the Temple of Mercury, whose Greek equivalent was Hermes, the messenger god and the god of commerce. This staircase and the temple are represented on the reverse of bronze coins of the Roman emperor Philip the Arab (reigned AD 244-9), whose bust is on the obverse.
Apart from the temple complex at Baalbek, Lebanon has significant groups of Roman temples. These have been grouped in different regions, which include the Temples of the Coastal Plain to Mount Lebanon, the Temples of the Beqaa Valley, which includes Baalbek, and the Temples of Mount Hermon. Some of the temples are built on sites of earlier places of worship of the Phoenician and the Hellenistic (323-31 BC) periods.
There are about thirty Roman shrines on Mount Hermon. In central Lebanon, the village of Niha on Mount Hermon has the remains of four important temples, which are probably dated from AD 150-300. Other temples in the region are at Qasr el Banat, and, at Qasr Chbib, two temples were newly discovered in 2003.
There are scanty remains of temples on the coastal plain of Lebanon, but images on coins and surviving architectural members in later buildings are testimony of their extensive nature.
These temples were demonstrations of the economic and the strategic importance of the Roman province of Phoenicie, which was a result of its position at the end of the trade routes of the Silk Road to the east and its proximity to the frontier with the Parthian Empire (247 BC-AD 224), which was centred on the area of present day Iran. The period of the existence of the temples was one of the most prosperous periods in Lebanon and it attracted both traders and intellectuals. The latter were especially noted in the famous Law School of Berytus, present day Beirut.
Sidon, the second largest city in Lebanon, which is 40 km south of Beirut, was an important city of the Phoenicians and remains have been excavated from this period, as well as later remains, such as the Sea Castle and the Castle of St Louis, both of which date to the thirteenth century AD. The old city has important archaeological sites, including ones of the prehistoric period, dated to the fourth millennium BC and earlier, which yielded stone tools. One of the significant discoveries was of Phoenician inscriptions. Sidon was a major power in the region during the first half of the second millennium BC, a period which archaeologists call the Middle Bronze Age. There are many important necropoleis, that is, areas of tomb structures, around the city, which have been excavated since the nineteenth century AD by Lebanese, French and other foreign archaeologists.
Situated on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea to the south of Sidon, Tyre was an important city of the Phoenicians and is known for its archaeological remains of these and later inhabitants. It is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world and is presently the fourth largest city of Lebanon. The city is noted for submerged columns and other ruins, which are visible in the Mediterranean Sea. It was originally an island, located 500-700 m from the shore, with an associated settlement on the shore, and it was connected to the mainland by a causeway, which was constructed by Alexander the Great (356-23 BC, reigned 336-23) in 332 in order to conquer the city. This causeway has increased in width over the centuries due to the build-up of silt. In the 1960s, underwater excavations in order to identify harbour facilities were carried out.
Remains of the ancient city exist in the city sites, and one of the significant finds has been the Roman baths, which were built near the harbour on an artificial terrace because of the unstable sandy ground. There are remains of the hypocaust of the baths, that is, the arrangement of small brick pillars, which supported the floor of the bathhouse, and permitted hot air to be circulated beneath the floor to heat the room above. This is typical of Roman bath construction in all areas of the Roman Empire. This allows us to determine their layout, since little remains of their upper structures. The palaestra, which was a large square space for exercise, adjoins the baths, and has one of its granite colonnades reconstructed.
From the centre of Tyre to the harbour was the colonnaded road, paved with marble and mosaics, and was ceremonial in nature, intended to impress visitors to the city. In this area, there is a square building of uncertain purpose and date, perhaps of the fourth century BC. It has rows of stone seats on all sides, and may have been a meeting hall or a small performance area.
Largely from the Roman period, the site of Al-Bass in Tyre has impressive archaeological remains. It is situated to the east of the former island and causeway on what was previously the mainland. One of the major remains is the very well preserved hippodrome, which was one of the largest in the Roman world and dates to the second century AD. This race track for horse and chariot racing has dimensions of 480 x 90 m, and it could seat 20,000 spectators. The site also has significant remains of a Roman aqueduct, and a triumphal arch, dated to the second century, next to which is the necropolis of the Roman and the Byzantine period on either side of the main entrance to the city, as was often the case with necropoleis in ancient cities. Some of the marble sarcophagi found in the necropolis are known for their elaborate stone carvings of mythological scenes. A Phoenician necropolis of the ninth century is on the northern part of the site.
In addition to Tyre and Sidon, Byblos, whose modern name is Jubayl, was one of the most important ports of the Phoenicians. Situated on the coast north of Sidon, the port was a very good harbour suitable for trading. It was thought in antiquity to be the oldest city in the world, and occupation of the site began in the fifth millennium BC.
Despite the importance of the port in antiquity, excavations have not produced much evidence from the Phoenician period. An exception is the sarcophagus of King Ahiram, held in the National Museum of Beirut, which dates to the tenth century BC, and has an early example of alphabetic writing. We remember that the Phoenicians invented the first alphabet, which was borrowed from them by the Greeks, and subsequently the Romans, and is thus the origin of our own alphabet.
It was discovered by French excavators in 1923 in the Royal Necropolis of Byblos. The low relief frieze shows the king on a throne carved with winged sphinxes, in front of which is a table. A priestess offers him a lotus flower and behind her is a procession of priestesses. Above is a frieze of lotuses. Assyrian palace reliefs, from the Assyrian Empire, which was centred on Mesopotamia, approximately present day Iraq, are the major influence for the iconography. The Phoenician inscription is on the side of the lid and it is the oldest surviving inscription in the Phoenician alphabet of a significant length.
From the Temple of the Obelisks, which is a Bronze Age temple dated c.1600 BC and the most important building on the site, are a number of significant objects. These include the Byblos figurines, of which there are over 1500 mostly male bronze, and in many cases gilded, figurines in Egyptian style, and the gilded bronze statue of the Phoenician god, Reshep, both dated to the nineteenth-eighteenthcentury BC.
The city of Tripoli, situated on the north coast of the country, has many archaeological sites, some of which date back to the Phoenician period. The castle of Tripoli, which is called the Citadel of Raymond de Saint-Gilles, is discussed in another lecture on the website, entitled ‘The Castles of Lebanon’. Many important monuments of the Mamluk period (1250-1517) exist, after their conquest of the Crusader city. The Mamluks were manumitted slave soldiers and formed a military caste, headed by the sultan. After Cairo in Egypt, Tripoli has the second largest concentration of Mamluk architecture.
An example is the Grand Mansuri Mosque, which is constructed from 1294-8 on the site of the Saint Mary Church of the Crusaders and incorporates pieces of the earlier structure. Another important building is the Taynal Mosque, completed in 1336, which features construction in alternating courses of black and white stone, known as ablaq, a characteristic feature of Mamluk architecture. It also has granite columns and Greek style capitals, which are likely to come from an earlier temple on the site, and it was probably built on the site of an earlier church. Many other significant mosques exist in the city, and the Old City is famous for its souks, hammans, that is, baths, from the early Mamluk period, churches of the various eastern and western denominations, fountains and madrasas, that is, educational institutions.
The important archaeological discoveries are showcased in museums throughout the country, where they are used to elucidate the history of the region.
The National Museum of Beirut, near the Beirut Hippodrome, is the country’s major museum. Its foundation was one of the principal contributions to the cultural life of Lebanon during the period of the French mandate. It was constructed between 1930 and 1937, and was opened in 1942. The building is in art deco style, the popular international decorative style of the period, with elements from ancient Egyptian architecture. It was designed by the architects, Antoine Nahas (1901-66), from Egypt, and Pierre Leprince-Ringuet (1874-1954), from France. It houses the principal archaeological collection of Lebanon, which had been commenced after World War I (1914-8).
The collection has over 100,000 objects and all the significant historical periods are represented in the museum, including prehistoric (eleventh-third millennia BC and earlier), Old Babylonian (nineteenth-sixteenth centuries), Hittite (seventeenth-twelfth centuries), Neo-Assyrian (c.900-609), Persian (c.550-330), Phoenician (c.1200-800), Greek (c.850 BC-AD 500), Roman (c.100 BC-AD 500), Byzantine (c.500-1400), and Ottoman (1400-1918).
The highlight of the collection is Ford Collection sarcophagi, which are thirty-one Phoenician anthropoid sarcophagi, that is, stone coffins of human form, made of white marble, and are dated to the fourth century BC. They combine the features of Egyptian sarcophagi and heads which are characteristic of ancient Greek sculpture. The collection is named after George Alfred Ford (1851-1928), who was an American missionary and the director of the American Presbyterian Mission School, which owned the land near Sidon, where the sarcophagi were found in 1901. These are exhibited in the newly refurbished underground floor, which was opened to the public in 2016, and displays only funerary art and objects.
Other important exhibits from Byblos, which I have discussed above, are the Ahiram sarcophagus, from the Royal Cemetery at Byblos, dated to the tenth century BC, and the finds from the Temple of the Obelisks, dated c.1600 BC.
From the Roman period, important exhibits are the four large sarcophagi, made of marble and over two metres in length, which were found at the Al-Bass Necropolis at Tyre, dated to the second century AD. Two portray scenes from the life of the mythological hero, Achilles, who was significant in the story of the Trojan War between the Greeks and the Trojans, and is a central figure of The Iliad, the Greek epic poem by Homer, which was probably composed in its final form in the eighth century BC. The story of Achilles was influential throughout the Greek and Roman world, and often featured on works of art. One of the two sarcophagi has on top the portraits of the man and his wife reclining at a funerary banquet, whereas the other has a lid with bucrania, that is, skulls of oxen, linked by garlands of flowers and fruit.
A third is the Sarcophagus of the Drunken Cupids, which is surrounded by scenes of cupids either drunk or playing musical instruments. This also has on top the portraits of the man and his wife reclining at a funerary banquet. A fourth is a sarcophagus with a fighting scene. It has similar portraits on top as the other two sarcophagi.
From near Baalbek is the Roman mosaic of the Muse, Calliope, and the Seven Wise Men, dated to the third century AD. Of the nine Muses, who were goddesses to which attributes of literature, the arts and science were assigned, Calliope was the Muse of eloquence and epic poetry.
The Seven Wise Men portrayed in the mosaic, each with his name and an associated saying, are Chliin of Sparta, Pittakos of Mytilene, Periander of Corinth, Kleoboulos of Lindos, Bias of Priene, Thales of Miletos, and Solon of Athens, with the philosopher, Socrates of Athens (c.470-399 BC) placed at the top, as an addition to the traditional seven, who are statesmen, law-givers and philosophers of Greece of the seven and sixth centuries BC. In an adjoining panel are portrayed Summer and Earth.
Over five metres in length, it came from a Roman villa at Suweydie, near Baalbek, and is representative of the elaborate mosaics used to decorate the floors of Roman villas throughout the Roman Empire, which often have themes taken from the Greek intellectual tradition and nature, in order to display the real or aspired erudition and cultivation of the villa’s owner.
Also in Beirut is the Archaeological Museum at the American University of Beirut (AUB), and many important finds from Lebanon are held in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum, in Istanbul, Turkey. These collections are discussed in another lecture on the website, entitled ‘The Museums of Lebanon’.
This lecture has outlined the important archaeological discoveries of Lebanon and shown how they are significant for recording the rich history of the country. Many archaeological sites are open for visitors, and the museums display the rich heritage of material culture. As such, the archaeological discoveries are important tourist attractions of the country. They demonstrate the historical and cultural significance of the region over many centuries.
Acknowledgement:
I would like to thank J. Tidmarsh for his assistance.