The seaside settlement of Jiyeh in Lebanon, now identified with the ancient Porphyreon, boasts a history dating back to the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age when Phoenicia occupied part of the Levantine ...coast (eastern Mediterranean). Extensive archaeological excavations by a team from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology University of Warsaw have focused on the urban residential quarter, which consists of numerous houses and buildings separated by passages, containing material that has provided important insights into the lives of its inhabitants over time. However, as archaeobotanical studies had not been conducted there before, the question of plant use remains an important and largely unknown area of research. This article presents the first botanical results from Jiyeh (seasons 2009–2014) and considers their implications for future cooperation between archaeologists and natural scientists.
This paper examines the evidence for climatic changes in the Eastern Mediterranean for the period 200–800 AD and offers hypotheses on the role of climatic fluctuations in the societal developments ...that occurred in this region at the end of Antiquity. The geographical focus of the paper includes Anatolia and the Levant, two major regions of the Eastern Roman Empire that are rich in environmental, historical and archaeological data. The paper starts with the review of current research on the economic, settlement and vegetation history of the Eastern Mediterranean in Late Antiquity, which provides the necessary framework for the study of potential climate impacts. The core of the article is devoted to the analysis of the palaeoclimatic evidence, which is divided in two groups. The first one encompasses the direct evidence, that is palaeoclimate proxies and the textual record of extreme weather events, while the second includes indirect information on climate, in particular multi-proxy studies that include pollen analysis, archaeological evidence, and the historical evidence of subsistence crises. We conclude that during our study period there occurred three periods of substantially different climatic conditions. A late Roman drought ∼350–470 AD was followed by a dramatic shift to much wetter climatic conditions. These in turn changed into increasing dryness after ∼730 AD in Anatolia and ∼670 AD in the Levant. The lack of chronological precision in the dating of the archaeological evidence and of some climatic records makes it impossible at present to make conclusive observations regarding the societal responses to these climatic fluctuations. Nonetheless in all probability, the extended and – in some areas - severe late Roman drought did not cause any major social upheaval or economic decline in Anatolia or the Levant, although it appears to have contributed to a change in patterns of water use in the cities. In contrast, the increased availability of moisture after ∼470 AD does appear to have contributed to the expansion of rural settlement and agriculture into environmentally marginal terrain, including semi-arid areas such as the Negev. In this way climate probably contributed to the general economic prosperity of the late Roman Empire in the east of the Mediterranean basin. The end of this late Roman world system came about finally in mid-7th c. and, at least in Anatolia, is not directly associated with any shift in climatic conditions. Aridity during early Medieval times may be one of the main factors behind the gradual long-term decline of settlement on the marginal lands in the Levant following Islamic conquest.
•We review different types of evidence for climate change in Anatolia and the Levant.•A drought (~350–470AD) contributed to local famines and a change in urban water use.•A wetter period after ~470 AD correlates with settlement expansion in arid lands.•Another drier phase occurred already after the crisis caused by the Arab invasions.•It contributed to the long-term settlement decline in some parts of the region.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Archeological work in the 2012 and 2013 seasons in Jiyeh (Porphyreon), which lies on the Phoenician coast north of ancient Sidon, was focused on reconstructing the history of settlement on the site. ...At least three phases were identified and dated to the Iron Age II, the Persian– Hellenistic–Roman period and late antiquity. The early dating of the functioning of the Christian basilica to the 4th–5th century AD was also confirmed in trial pits. The complex and unusual sewage installation discharging rainwater from the roofs and streets of the 5th-century settlement contributed important data for studies of late antique domestic architecture in the region.
The ruins of the ancient village of Chhim, located in the mountains near Sidon, constitute an exceptional case of a well-preserved rural archaeological site in Lebanon. Chhim has been researched in ...depth thanks to recent excavations. The sanctuary from the Roman period, the Christian basilica, residential buildings, and numerous oil presses provide an account of a settlement whose livelihood was based on agriculture and animal husbandry—all while remaining in close contact with other coastal Mediterranean settlements. The relatively high and stable level of prosperity of Chhim's inhabitants contrasted with technological stagnation and the retention of traditional building techniques—both characteristic of the mountainous regions of ancient Phoenicia.
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Ancient Porphyreon (Jiyeh/Nebi Younis) was a large rural settlement located on the coast of modern-day Lebanon, near the Phoenician city of Sidon. This article presents the initial research results ...of the stratigraphic data, extending from at least the eighth century BC to the seventh century AD, and explores how Phoenician village functioned. Analysis proves that it played a significant role in the local economy—on the one hand, providing for the city of Sidon and, on the other, mediating the exchange of goods with rural settlements, scattered across the mountainous hinterland. Uncovering the mysteries of this coastal settlement is extremely important, especially in light of the increasing threat to the archaeological heritage of Lebanon.
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•This study focuses on Roman and early Byzantine ceramics from Chhim in Lebanon.•Amphorae and common wares were analysed with thin section petrography and WD-XRF.•Most of the samples form one ...compositional group, compatible with local geology.•The assumed local group shows high compositional and technological variability.•The pottery production seems to be related to the local olive-oil industry.
The current paper presents new evidence on pottery production in Chhim, Lebanon/Phoenicia, during the Roman and early Byzantine periods (end of 1st c. BCE - 5th c. CE), based on the results of scientific analysis integrated with macroscopic studies. Thirty-three samples of amphorae, common ware and kitchen ovens were selected and analysed through a combination of thin section petrography and elemental analyses. The results suggested that the majority of the analysed pottery, despite some compositional and technological variability, was produced with the use of raw materials similar to those used for the kitchen ovens excavated in the same site and was compatible with the local geology. The observed variation in the assemblage probably indicates that the ancient potters did not make standardised choices concerning raw materials and clay paste preparation techniques. The potentially local pottery production seems to have been related to the olive oil industry, which was operating at the site during the Roman and early Byzantine periods.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
In 2007, renovation work in the Greek-Orthodox Church of Mar Elias Btina in
Beirut resulted in the discovery of some wall painting fragments. They were fully uncovered
and preserved in 2010 and 2011 ...by conservators from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw in
cooperation with archaeologists from the PCMA UW. The wall paintings, dated provisionally to
the 12th–13th century, was an almost complete decoration of the presbytery walls, which
included depictions of the Prophet Elijah and a number of unidentified saints. This discovery
significantly enriches the corpus of St Elijah’s representations in the medieval art of the Christian
East and opens new avenues of discussion regarding church art of Beirut in the Crusader period.
The archaeological fieldwork in 2010 at the site of Jiyeh (ancient Porphyreon), situated
on the Mediterranean coast between ancient Berytus and Sidon, focused in on full-scale excavations
of the Late ...Antique streets and residential quarter (4th–7th century AD ), uncovering 21 rooms and
three alleys. The results contributed to a better understanding of the street network in the quarter
and the nature of the architecture. The quarter comprising the 21 newly uncovered rooms taken
together with 80 from earlier fieldwork in 2008 and 2009 formed an extensive residential complex,
approximately 40 m by 35 m. It is a unique example of private domestic architecture illustrating
everyday life in Roman and Byzantine Phoenicia. A bread oven (tannur) suggested the presence
of a bakery in this part of the settlement.
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