Maurice Chehab

He obtained his baccalauréat in 1924, and then studied history in Paris, at the Sorbonne, the École pratique des Hautes Études, the Institut Catholique de Paris and finally as a graduate studied archaeology at the École du Louvre, receiving its diploma in 1928.

Chehab's work focussed on the history of the Levant, from Ancient Egypt and Phoenicia, through Greek, Persian, Macedonian, Seleucid and Roman influence and occupation, to the Muslims and Crusaders in the Middle Ages, and the Ottoman Empire from the 16th century.

The headquarters of the Directorate-General of Antiquities at the National Museum was situated in the heart of a battle zone, on the Green Line.

Chehab ensured that smaller objects were stored safely in the basement, behind steel-reinforced concrete walls.

Other objects were moved to underground storage at Byblos Castle, or the vaults of the Central Bank of Lebanon, or the French Archaeological Institute in Damascus, although some were stolen.

After peace returned to Lebanon in 1991, the museum was opened in 1993 in its damaged state, with bomb and bullet holes in the burnt and graffiti-clad walls.