The China Mail - Lebanon archaeological finds showcase rich heritage despite war woes

Important discoveries in recent years include the remains of columns and bases from a Roman temple in Maasser al-Shouf in the mountains southeast of Beirut, nestled next to a millennia-old cedar forest.

"A whole system was built around this temple," which dates to between the first century BC and the second century AD, said Myriam Ziade, regional antiquities official with the culture ministry.

She said the site was turned into a Crusader fortress between the 12th and 13th centuries.

The local municipality reported finding huge stone blocks on the hill in 2017, and excavations began five years later with a team from an Italian university, with the dig revealing the ruins of the large temple, she told AFP.

Archaeologists are to soon resume work at the site, located "on a network of roads leading from the Mediterranean coast to the Bekaa valley" in the country's east, she said.

The eastern city of Baalbek has one of Lebanon's best-known landmarks: a stunningly well-preserved Roman temple complex set against the mountainous border with Syria.

- Protecting heritage -

Lebanon is brimming with archaeological finds showcasing its rich history over thousands of years, from the Phoenician, Persian, Roman and Byzantine periods, the Crusades, and Arab and Islamic sultanates and empires.

After Iran-backed Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in March, triggering heavy Israeli airstrikes and a ground invasion in the south, the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO last month added several Lebanese sites to its World Heritage in Danger list.

They include the southern coastal city of Tyre, home to a Roman triumphal arch and a second-century hippodrome.

The list also includes five castles in south Lebanon's Jabal Amel area, among them the Crusader-era Beaufort fortress, which Israeli forces captured in May.

Sarkis Khoury, head of antiquities at Lebanon's culture ministry, told AFP the war had forced archaeologists to switch tack.

We are "now focused on protecting endangered heritage in southern Lebanon and in the Bekaa, particularly in the Baalbek region", he said.

"Excavations in dangerous areas have come to a halt, and archaeological missions are going through a period of minimal activity throughout Lebanon, especially in the southern regions."

He said foreign archaeological teams had stopped going to Lebanon.

- Ancient port city -

Still, some work continues.

In Batroun, a northern coastal city home to the ruins of a small Roman amphitheatre, an archaeologist was surrounded by tools and papers, documenting the latest finds as waves lapped rocks nearby.

Samar Karam, in charge of archaeological sites in north Lebanon, said a Roman-era olive press was found on private property along with pottery weights and items for textile production.

On another nearby property overlooking an ancient sea wall, excavations revealed two stone quarries "one Roman and the other Phoenician", she said.

The ruins of rooms from Phoenician, Persian and Roman periods have been uncovered, their pink or grey flooring helping to distinguish them.

Archaeologists have found pieces of Greek pottery, as well as rooms and large jars for storing goods from the harbour, discoveries that Karam said showed the ancient city's "lively commercial activity".

Tombs in the city date to a variety of historical periods, she added.

- Hippodrome search -

In Beirut, whose history spans over 5,000 years, Laure Salloum oversees archaeological excavations in the chaotic modern city.

She said current digs were "really construction projects" where workers had stumbled across historical treasures.

A recent discovery uncovered the remains of a Roman-era olive press, while work was ongoing in central Beirut in search of "the remaining part" of a Roman hippodrome, Salloum said.

The hippodrome was initially unearthed years ago when excavations began for a commercial and residential complex.

Other accidental discoveries in the city have included a 2,000-year-old Roman bathhouse.

Such finds often cause development plans to grind to a halt.

"We're constantly making new discoveries," Khoury said.

"Lebanon is at the crossroads of a region that has been full of crises for thousands of years."

R.Yeung--ThChM