Temple of the Obelisks
Location | Byblos |
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Coordinates | 34°07′08″N 35°38′50″E / 34.11889°N 35.64722°E |
Site notes | |
Excavation dates | 1922 |
The Temple of the Obelisks (
Almost all of the artefacts found in the excavation of the temple are displayed at the National Museum of Beirut.[3] It was excavated by French archaeologist Maurice Dunand from 1924-73. The original temple is now in two parts: the base is known as "the L-shaped temple", and the top is known as the "Temple of the Obelisks"; the latter was moved 40 meters east during Maurice Dunand's excavations.[2]
Dunand uncovered 1306 Byblos figurines – ex-voto offerings, including faience figurines, weapons, and dozens of bronze-with-gold-leaf figurines – which have become the "poster child" of the Lebanese Tourism Ministry.[5]
Description
Base: L Shaped Temple
The L-shaped Temple was constructed around 2600 BCE,
The temple had well built walls and temples, in contrast to the later Obelisk temple.
Top: Obelisk Temple
The Temple of the Obelisks was constructed around 1600 BCE [
Since it had been built on top of the L-shaped temple, it was necessary for Dunand to dismantle and move this upper temple in order to excavate the L-shaped temple beneath.[2]
In contrast to the L-shaped temple beneath, the Obelisk Temple was built with irregular walls.[2]
Modern identification and excavation
The temple was first identified by Dunand.[8][7] The majority of the obelisks found were underground in their original positions, standing upright, while a few others were discovered buried in a favissa (a well for votive deposits).[7]
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1959 view of the temple base and top
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Montet's 1924 diagram of the Byblos archaeological site
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Montet's 1924 diagram of the Byblos temples
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The Byblos figurines
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The Abishemu obelisk
References
- ^ Kilani 2019, p. 57a...based on a disputed translation of the Abishemu obelisk
- ^ a b c d e f Boda 1994, p. 146.
- ^ a b Michaelides 2001, p. 21.
- ^ Kilani 2019, p. 57.
- ISBN 978-0-19-921297-2.
- ^ a b c Bryce 2009, p. 138.
- ^ a b c d e f Kilani 2019, p. 57-58.
- ^ Dunand 1937.
Sources
- Boda, Sharon La (1994). International Dictionary of Historic Places: Middle East and Africa. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-884964-03-9.
- Bryce, Trevor (10 September 2009). The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia: The Near East from the Early Bronze Age to the Fall of the Persian Empire. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-15908-6.
- Kilani, Marwan (24 October 2019). Byblos in the Late Bronze Age: Interactions Between the Levantine and Egyptian Worlds. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-41659-8.
- Michaelides, Demetrios (2001), Report on Mission to Byblos (Lebanon), International Council on Monuments and Sites
Archaeological reports
- Dunand, Maurice (1937). Fouilles de Byblos: Atlas : 1926-1932. P. Geuthner.
Further reading
- Finkbeiner, Uwe [in German] (1981). Untersuchungen zur Stratigraphie des Obeliskentempels in Byblos: Versuch einer methodischen Auswertung. G. Mann.
- Miniaci, Gianluca. Deposit f (Nos. 15121–15567) in the Obelisk Temple at Byblos: Artefact Mobility in the Middle Bronze Age I–II (1850–1650 BC) between Egypt and the Levant, Aegypten und Levante 28, 379-408.
- Sala, Maura (2008). "Temple En L A Biblo" (PDF). Vicino Oriente. Vol. XIV. pp. 61–87.
External links
- Media related to Temple of the Obelisks at Wikimedia Commons