Byblos
Jebeil · Gubla · Gebal · Jubayl
Neolithic to Medieval (8800 BCE–present; urban from c.5000 BCE)·Neolithic / Canaanite / Phoenician / Egyptian / Roman / Crusader·🇱🇧 Mount Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon
About
About Byblos
Continuously inhabited since Neolithic, Byblos is one of the oldest cities in the world. Phoenician port that gave the Bible its name (byblos = papyrus), with layers from Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Early Bronze Age, Egyptian, Phoenician, Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, Crusader. Excavated by Pierre Montet and Maurice Dunand: Royal Necropolis, Temple of Baalat Gebal, L-shaped Temple, Crusader Castle, and the earliest known Phoenician alphabet inscriptions.
Why it mattersType site for Phoenician alphabet and Bronze Age Levantine urbanism
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Precise origin of Phoenician alphabet at Byblos vs Ugarit priority debate
- 02Location of prehistoric harbour now silted
Theories
- 01Linear development from Neolithic fishing village to Bronze Age city-state (Dunand stratification)
- 02Alphabet invented for trade accounting late 2nd millennium BCE
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Neolithic settlement c.8800 BCE; walled town c.3000 BCE
- Period
- Neolithic to Medieval (8800 BCE–present; urban from c.5000 BCE)
- Culture
- Neolithic / Canaanite / Phoenician / Egyptian / Roman / Crusader
- Purpose
- Phoenician maritime trading port for cedar, papyrus and purple dye; religious center of Baalat Gebal
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
Neolithic settlement c.8800 BCE; walled town c.3000 BCE
Initial construction
c. 1080 CE
Major expansion
On the ground
Structures & features
34.1236° N · 35.6519° E · 10 m · 3 mapped features
- Temple of Baalat GebaltempleMain Phoenician goddess temple, rebuilt from 2700 BCE onward34.1198° N · 35.6472° E
- Royal NecropolisnecropolisNine shaft tombs of Byblos kings with Ahiram sarcophagus (alphabet)34.1195° N · 35.6465° E
- Crusader Castlecastle12th-century fortress built from Roman spolia34.1204° N · 35.6491° E
Gallery