Archaeology of Lebanon

Archaeology of Lebanon includes thousands of years of history ranging from Lower Palaeolithic, Phoenician, Roman, Arab, Ottoman, and Crusades periods.

[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.

Middle Paleolithic industries suggested include Amudian (Pre-Aurignacian), early Yabrudian, (Acheulio-Yabrudian), Yarbrudian, Micro-Levalloisian or Micro-Mousterian, Levalloisian, Mousterian and Levalloiso-Mousterian.

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.

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.

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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

Overview of Baalbek in the late 19th century
Archaeological site in Beirut
Greek inscription on one of the tombs found in the Roman - Byzantine necropolis, Tyre
Trihedral Neolithic axe or pick from Joub Jannine II , Lebanon. Cream flint patinated to brown. In the collection of the Museum of Lebanese Prehistory at the Saint Joseph University , Beirut , Lebanon.
Sarcophagus of Ahiram in the National Museum of Beirut
Temple of Bacchus