Volume
73 nos. 2-3
June-September 2010
Click here for the table of contents of this issue on Atypon Link
The Archaeological Heritage of Lebanon: Current Challenges and Future Directions
by Jeanine Abdul Massih
The Necropolis and Dwellings of Byblos During the Chalcolithic Period: New Interpretations
by Gassia Artin
To clarify our understanding of the Chalcolithic period in Lebanon's coastal regions, this article examines the unpublished documents from Dunand's excavations of Byblos's necropolis and dwellings. The examination reveals that, contrary to previous hypotheses, the Chalcolithic inhabitants of Byblos did not necessarily bury their dead under or in the immediate vicinity of their houses.
Tell Arqa: A Prosperous City During the Bronze Age
by Jean-Paul Thalmann
Since 1992, excavations have been undertaken in earnest at Tell Arqa. Survey data, stratigraphical and architectural analysis, and pottery typology have enabled researchers to construct a secure chronological framework for this period and to trace the town's rise to prosperity during the MBA and then slow decline in the LBA following Thutmose III's destruction of the city.
Recent Excavations at Tell Fadous-Kfarabida
by Hermann Genz
Unlike many other sites in the region, Tell Fadous-Kfarabida has survived largely intact and thus offers a unique picture of a small town devoted to agriculture and fishing during the EBA and MBA. Since a subsistence economy forms the backbone of all preindustrial societies, a better knowledge of rural settlements is vital for understanding Bronze Age societies of the Levant. Tell Fadous-Kfarabida offers an unparalleled chance to gain this knowledge for the Lebanese coast.
Sidon During the Bronze Age: Burials, Rituals and Feasting Grounds at the "College Site"
by Claude Doumet-Serhal
Thanks to the initiative of the Lebanese Directorate General of Antiquities, the College Site in downtown Saida (Sidon) has remained open for excavation since 1998. These excavations have allowed archaeologists to follow a sequence of development in Sidon from the Chalcolithic/EB I periods through the Iron Age, uncovering both architectural remains and over one-hundred burials from the MBA.
Tell el-Burak: A New Middle Bronze Age Site from Lebanon
by Helene Sader and Jens Kamlah
Recent excavations at Tell el-Burak have uncovered important evidence from the Middle Bronze and Iron Ages, as well as domestic dwells from the medieval period. Not only have these excavations brought to light the first Middle Bronze Age monumental fortified palace in Lebanon; they also allow us to begin to fill in the gaps in the history of the MBA in Lebanon, specifically in the kingdom of Sidon.
The Phoenician Cemetery of Tyre
by Maria Eugenia Aubet
The necropolis of Tyre - Al-Bass offers the most dense and homogenous assemblage of burials to date in terms of form and typology, mortuary practices and morphology of grave goods. The archaeological evidence allows us not only to reconstruct the associated Iron Age funerary rituals, but also to glimpse the egalitarian impulses of Tyre's social organization.
An Unexpected Archaeological Treasure: The Phoenician Quarters in Beirut City Center
by Josette Elayi
Excavations of the western side of Beirut's Phoenician harbor have greatly expanded our understanding of the city in the fifth century B.C.E. The construction of a new quarter at this time, which included houses, warehouses, a new street plan, a sewer system, ready access to the harbor, and a temple, points to a vibrant economy comprising both industry and trade and a stable yet cosmopolitan social life.
The State of Underwater Archaeology in Lebanon
by Zeina Haddad
The Phoenicians of the Lebanese coast were admired for their seafaring expertise and for the economic, social, and cultural contributions that their maritime abilities enabled them to make. The use of aerial photography beginning in the 1930s and more recent underwater exploration, corings, surveys, and excavations have broadened and sharpened our understanding of the ancient harbors in places such as Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos.
New Light on the Phoenician Harbor at Tyre
by Ibrahim Noureddine
In 2001, Lebanon's Directorate General of Antiquities conducted a survey that confirmed the existence of a submerged structure consisting of the two parallel walls that stretched out from the northeastern tip of Tyre's peninsula. Further investigations suggest that these parallel walls are the remains of a Phoenician jetty of the northern harbor at Tyre going back to approximately the seventh or eighth century B.C.E.
FORUM
The Beirut National Museum and Collective Memory: Sanctuary, Repository, or Interactive Space?
by Suzy Hakimian
Private Archaeological Museums in Lebanon
by Leila Badre
Challenging Colonialism and Nationalism in Lebanese Archaeological Museums
by Lina G. Tahan
Postcolonial, Neo-imperial, or a Little Bit of Both? Reflections on Museums in Lebanon
by Neil Asher Silberman
REVIEWS
The Bronze Age in the Lebanon
Edited by Manfred Bietak and Ernst Czerny
(Sharon Zuckerman)
Networking Patterns of the Bronze and Iron Age Levant
Edited by Claude Doumet-Serhal, in collaboration with Anne Rabate and Andrea Resek
(Louise Steel)
Roman Berytus: Beirut in Late Antiquity
By Linda Jones Hall
(Kevin Butcher)
Protecting Catalhoyuk: Memoir of an Archaeological Site Guard
By Sadrettin Dural, with contributions by Ian Hodder
(Benjamin W. Porter)