Phoenician port of Beirut

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Phoenician port of Beirut
Persian, Ottoman
CulturesPhoenician
Site notes
Excavation dates2000, 2011-2012
ArchaeologistsJosette Elayi, Hussein Sayegh, Assaad Seif, Hisham Sayegh, Nick Marriner, Ralph Pederson, Hanz Curver.
Public accessno

The Phoenician port of Beirut, also known as the Phoenician Harbour of Beirut and archaeological site BEY039 is located between Rue Allenby and Rue Foch in

Persian periods.[3][4] Two nineteenth-century Ottoman docks were also unearthed during construction, just to the north of this area at archaeological sites BEY018 and BEY019.[5]

Excavations at BEY039 covered 3,000 square metres (0.30 ha) and comprised the western bank of a north-to-south-facing harbor about 300 metres (980 ft) from the sea. It was made up of

Ramleh sandstone blocks measuring about 60 centimetres (24 in) by 30 centimetres (12 in), fixed with a grey mortar. This overlaid a layer of larger blocks measuring about 100 centimetres (39 in) by 60 centimetres (24 in) that were fixed without mortar. This type of construction was similar to that used during Phoenician period D. Although this harbor has now been reliably identified, the existence of other ports or areas used for harboring boats in the nearby coves at different times has not been ruled out.[5]

Controversy over site BEY194

Another alleged port, suggested to consist of two ancient

demolished by urbanization at 6:00 a.m. on 27 June 2012.[8]

The alleged port was discovered during construction on the site in 2011 and investigated by a team of Lebanese

archaeologists from the Directorate General of Antiquities under Hisham Sayegh, a B.A. graduate and pottery specialist from the Lebanese University. The site was said to include two canals or watercourses that comprised the supposed dry docks along with two large sandstones, considered to be part of the enormous foundations of an ancient temple. The surrounding area, called Mina al-Hosn is translated as "port of the fort" in Arabic. Precise dating of the structures was never obtained however there were a few finds of pottery at the site that were dated to the fifth century BCE.[9]

Controversy arose in June 2012, when authorization was given by Lebanese

University of Iasi, Romania) and Jean-Christophe Sourisseau (responsible for the excavation of Kition in Cyprus). The claim that the site was a port was disputed by a new scientific committee of archaeologists appointed by Layoun including Hassan Salame Sarkis, Albert Naccache and Samir Chami based on reports of Hanz Curver (who initially supported Sageyh's findings, then reversed his opinion) and Ralph Pedersen a research associate of the institute of Nautical Archaeology and now teaching at Marburg in Germany. Pederson's report was commissioned by the construction company and dismissed Sayegh's claims that the trenches could have been used as a port or dry dock on several criteria. Questions were raised regarding the size and elevation of the trenches, their suitability for military ships, similarity to other Phoenician docks in the area and distance from the sea. Dry dock trenches of the period also usually had holes cut into their side to fit wooden supports for the ships and these were absent from the plot at Minet el-Hosn. Suggestions were raised about them being slipways for a quarry, however their exact purpose has no apparent consensus. The problem over the distance from the sea could not be accounted for due to sea level fluctuations in the Phoenician period, however no firm date was given to the construction of the bedrock cut trenches.[8][10][11]

Hisham Sayegh's contract with the Ministry was not renewed and on 27 June he claimed to have resigned in a letter that accused Venus Towers of attempted bribery to falsify scientific information. "I refused with previous culture ministers bribes that have been generously offered by the Venus company, the owner of the land so that we would agree to falsify scientific truth and divert the origin and significance of this discovery at the heart of the capital Beirut".[12] Former Minister Wardeh was quoted as saying "No sane person would imagine that it is possible to give an order over a telephone to a company to demolish the site, and that the company would be ready with bulldozers to carry out the destruction without waiting for the decree to be published in the official Gazette."[6][7]

Based on the information of Sayegh, in a letter dated April 2011, Assaad Seif, coordinator of archaeological research and excavations in Lebanon at the Directorate General of Antiquities endorsed the discovery and called for the protection of the area, suggesting provision of fair compensation to the construction firm. He called it a significant find for the study of the Phoenician era in Beirut, particularly before 100 BCE, saying "“We need to preserve this site and its surrounding block, which would require the construction firm to carry out the appropriate modifications to its project.”[7] Seif now agrees with the evaluation report from the international committee and expert report that BEY194 was not used as a port and that the data from Sayegh was not at all reliable and had many inconsistencies in the stratigraphy and the dating.[13]

Other Lebanese civil societies and organizations have raised criticism and controversy over the issue.

Shura council for such decisions. It also came to light on 9 July that Venus Towers, the construction firm, did not have the appropriate license to dig up the site due to an administrative mistake. The firm was fined 500,000 Lebanese pounds and its managing director Mohammed Kassem admitted the expiry of their license along with confirming his opinion that there was no evidence of the presence of ship building or a port on his land.[14]

The construction firm Venus has currently blocked access for people to access and photograph or video the site, however activists and protestors have climbed trees to throw paper boats, inscribed with the slogan "Hands off our Phoenician Port" over the walls.[9]

The destruction of archaeological site BEY194 took place two days prior to the publication of Minister Layoun's decision in the official Gazette, leading to claims that he acted in violation of Lebanese law and setting a concerning precedent for similar actions in future.[8] The ministry maintains that the declassification of the site was done through the legal adopted procedures by the governmental institutions.

The report by Pederson concluded that the trenches were 3.9 metres (13 ft) and 4.2 metres (14 ft) wide which is only big enough for small, single banked,

Aphracts of around 18 meters in length, that they were not parallel, at different elevations and not part of a military complex. Most importantly, the bottoms of the trenches were not a smooth slope that is required for hauling ships up and down- there were short inclines of about 8 to 9 meters long, steps, level areas, and even a part that exhibited a slight reverse pitch. Whilst authoritatively dismissing the site at BEY194 as a Phoenician port, it offers no suggestion on what the trenches could have been used for and at what date, reserving speculation on their function as "intriguing" and one that perhaps now will forever remain a mystery.[10]

References

  1. ^ Elayi, J. & Sageyh, H., Un quartier du port Phénicien de Beyrouth au Fer III/Perse, Archaéologie et histoire, Paris: Gabalda; 2000.
  2. ^ Marquis P., Les fouilles de centre-ville. In: Doumet-Serhal C, editor. Decade: a decade of archaeology and history in the Lebanon. Beirut Archaeology and History in Lebanon 2004. p. 266-279.
  3. ^ Nina Jidejian (1973). Beirut through the ages, p. 49. Dar el-Machreq [distribution: Librairie orientale]. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  4. ISSN 0996-5904
    .
  5. ^ a b Marriner, Nick (2007). Paléoenvironnements littoraux du Liban à l'Holocène : Géoarchéologie des ports antiques de Beyrouth, Sidon et Tyr : 5000 ans d'interactions nature-culture (Thèse de doctorat) (in French). University of Marseille I. pp. 398 & 412.
  6. ^ a b c "L'Orient le Jour - Le " port phénicien de Beyrouth " détruit à coups de pelleteuse". Archived from the original on 2020-03-14. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
  7. ^ a b c ""Wardy casts doubt on Layyoun's intentions" Van Meguerditchian, The Daily Star Lebanon, 5 July 2012". Archived from the original on 9 September 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
  8. ^ a b c ""Behind the destruction of Beirut's heritage" Shane Farrell, Now Lebanon, 4 July 2012". Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
  9. ^ a b "Phoenician Port in Beirut faces Mega Project", Van Meguerditchian, The Daily Star Lebanon, June 25, 2012.
  10. ^ a b Ralph K. Pedersen, Archaeological Assessment Report on the Venus Towers Site (BEY 194), Beirut – For the Venus Towers Real Estate Development Company, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 30 May - 3 June 2012.
  11. doi:10.1016/j.margeo.2006.04.003
    .
  12. ^ "Port phénicien de Beyrouth, le responsable des Fouilles Hisham Sayegh démissionne", Libnanews, 30 June 2012. Archived 9 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ Justin Salhani, Archaeological report: Razed ruins not Phoenician port, The Daily Star Lebanon, June 29, 2012.
  14. ^ "Van Meguerditchian., Venus lacked license to demolish disputed site, The Daily Star Lebanon, 10 July 2012". Archived from the original on 15 April 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2012.

External links

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