Situated approximately 42 km (26 mi) north of
Beirut, Byblos holds a strong allure for archaeologists due to its accumulations of various strata resulting from countless centuries of human dwelling. The initial excavation was conducted by
Ernest Renan in 1860, documented in his work
"Mission de Phénicie" (1865–1874). This was succeeded by
Pierre Montet's efforts from 1921 to 1924, and later by
Maurice Dunand, who continued excavations from 1925 for a span of forty years. Renan's expedition was to "provide the evidence that the city did not move and that Gebeil is Byblos". Fragments attributed to the semi-legendary pre-
Homeric Phoenician
priest Sanchuniathon say Byblos was the first city erected in
Phoenicia and was established by the god
Cronus. (Cronus was considered the nearest equivalent to the Canaanite
Baal /
Baal Hammon in
the syncretising system used by the ancient Greeks and Romans.) According to the writer
Philo of Byblos (quoting Sanchuniathon, and quoted in
Eusebius), Byblos was founded by the Phoenician shrine god
El (whom the
Greeks identified with their god
Cronus). During the 3rd millennium BC, the first signs of a town can be observed, with the remains of well-built houses of uniform size. This was the period when the
Canaanite civilization began to develop.
Neolithic and Chalcolithic levels Neolithic remains of some buildings can be observed at the site.
Jacques Cauvin published studies of
flint tools from the stratified Neolithic and
Chalcolithic sites in 1962. Remains of humans found in Chalcolithic burials have been published by
Henri Victor Vallois in 1937. Tombs from this era were discussed by Emir
Maurice Chehab in 1950. Early pottery found at the tell was published by E.S. Boynton in 1960 with further studies by R. Erich in 1954 and Van Liere and
Henri de Contenson in 1964.
Dunand's five-level stratigraphy Prehistoric settlements at Byblos were divided up by Dunand into the following five periods, which were recently expanded and re-calibrated by
Yosef Garfinkel to correlate with
Tell es-Sultan (Jericho): • Early Neolithic (early phase) corresponding to the
Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) of Jericho, represented by plastered floors and
naviforme technology, dated between 8800 and 7000 BC; • Early Neolithic (late phase) corresponding to the
PNA of
Tell es-Sultan (Jericho) IX (also
Yarmukian) between 6400 and 5800 BC, represented by
pottery,
sickle blades,
figurines and small points; • Middle Neolithic corresponding to the
PNB of
Tell es-Sultan (Jericho) VIII and represented by pottery, dated between 5800 and 5300 BC; • Late Neolithic corresponding to the Middle
Chalcolithic of
Beth Shean and represented by pottery,
stone vessels,
silos,
chamber tombs and seals, dated between 5300 and 4500 BC; • Early Chalcolithic corresponding to the Late Chalcolithic of
Ghassulian, represented by
jar burials, pierced flint, churn and a violin figurine, dated to between 4500 and 3600 BC and, • Late Chalcolithic corresponding to the Early
Bronze Age, represented by
architecture and
cylinder seal impressions, dated to between 3600 and 3100 BC. (Durand's Early Neolithic). Early Neolithic Byblos was a later settlement than others in the
Beqaa Valley such as
Labweh and
Ard Tlaili. It was located on the seaward slope of the larger of the two hills that used to compose ancient Byblos, with a watered valley in between. , in
Syria The original site spread down into the valley and covered an area of providing fertile soils and a protected landing place for boats. Dunand discovered around twenty houses although some of the settlement was suggested to have been lost to the sea, robbed or destroyed. Dwellings were rectangular with plastered floors,
pottery was usually
Dark faced burnished ware with some shell impressions. The Middle Neolithic was a smaller settlement of no more than adjacent to the older site. The pottery was more developed with red washes and more varied forms and elaborate decorations, buildings were poorer with unplastered floors. The Late Neolithic period showed development from the middle in building design, a wider range of more developed flint tools and a far larger variety of pottery with fabrication including silica. The Late Chalcolithic featured developments of "
Canaanite blades" and fan scrapers. Adult burials in jars started to appear along with metal in the form of one
copper hook, found in a jar. Some jars were lined with white plaster that was applied and self-hardened after firing. Copper appeared more frequently in the Late Chalcolithic period along with multiple burials in tombs and jar handles with impressed signs. Early Bronze Age remains were characterised by the development of
Byblos combed ware and a lithic assemblage studied by Jacques Cauvin. Watson Mills and Roger Bullard suggest that during the
Old Kingdom of Egypt and
Middle Kingdom of Egypt Byblos was virtually an Egyptian colony. • EB IA (3600-3300 BCE): Rural/fisherman's village (Dunand Installation IIb from Chalcolithic to EB IA) with a shrine erected at the natural spring. The spring was gradually built up as a sacred well. • EB IB (3300-3000 BCE): Proto-urban town with a temple compound. (Dunand Installation III).
Middle Bronze In the Middle Bronze IIA, objects have been found at Byblos naming the
12th Dynasty king
Senusret II, the
13th Dynasty Egyptian king
Neferhotep I.
Late Bronze During the Late Bronze Age, the rulers of Byblos maintained close relationships with the New Kingdom pharaohs of Ancient Egypt.
Amarna period Around 1350 BC, the
Amarna letters include 60 letters from
Rib-Hadda and his successor
Ili-Rapih who were rulers of Byblos, writing to the Egyptian government. This is mainly due to Rib-Hadda's constant pleas for military assistance from
Akhenaten. They also deal with the conquest of neighbouring city-states by the
Habiru.
Ramesside period It appears Egyptian contact peaked during the
19th dynasty, only to decline during the
20th and
21st dynasties. In addition, when the
New Kingdom collapsed in the 11th century BC, Byblos ceased being a colony and became the foremost city of Phoenicia. Although the archaeological evidence seems to indicate a brief resurgence during the
22nd and
23rd dynasties, it is clear after the
Third Intermediate Period the Egyptians started favouring
Tyre and
Sidon instead of Byblos.
Iron Age Phoenician period Archaeological evidence at Byblos, particularly the five
Byblian royal inscriptions dating back to around 1150–950 BC, shows existence of a
Phoenician alphabet of twenty-two characters; an important example is the
Ahiram sarcophagus. The use of the alphabet was spread by Phoenician merchants through their maritime trade into parts of North Africa and Europe. One of the most important monuments of this period is the
Temple of the Obelisks, dedicated to the
Canaanite war god Resheph, but this had fallen into ruins by the time of
Alexander the Great.
Assyrian period In the
Assyrian period,
Sibittibaal of Byblos became tributary to
Tiglath-Pileser III in 738 BC, and in 701 BC, when
Sennacherib conquered all
Phoenicia, the king of Byblos was
Urumilki. Byblos was also subject to Assyrian kings
Esarhaddon (r. 681–669 BC) and
Ashurbanipal (r. 668–627 BC), under its kings
Milkiasaph and
Yehawmelek.
Persian period In the
Achaemenid Empire (538–332 BC), Byblos was the fourth of four Phoenician vassal kingdoms established by the Persians; the first three being
Sidon,
Tyr, and
Arwad.
Classical antiquity Hellenistic rule came with the arrival of
Alexander the Great in the area in 332 BC.
Coinage was in use, and there is abundant evidence of continued trade with other Mediterranean countries. , from the
Peutinger map During the
Greco-Roman period, the temple of
Resheph was elaborately rebuilt, and the city, though smaller than its neighbours such as Tyrus and Zidonia, was a centre for the cult of
Adonis. King
Herod of
Judaea, known for his extensive building projects, including beyond his own kingdom, constructed a city wall for Byblos. In the 3rd century, a small but impressive
theatre was constructed. With the rise of
Christianity, a
bishopric was established in Byblos, and the town grew rapidly. Although a
Sasanian colony is known to have been established in the region following the
early Muslim conquests of 636, there is little archaeological evidence for it. Trade with
Europe effectively dried up, and it was not until the coming of the
First Crusade in 1098 that prosperity returned to Byblos, known then as Gibelet or Giblet.
Crusader, Mamluk, Ottoman period in Byblos In the 12th and 13th century, Byblos became part of the
County of Tripoli, a
Crusader state connected to, but
largely independent from, the
Crusader
Kingdom of Jerusalem. As Gibelet or Giblet, it came under the rule of the
Genoese Embriaco family, who created for themselves the
Lordship of Gibeletto, first as administrators of the city in the name of the
Republic of Genoa, and then as a hereditary fief, undertaking to pay an annual fee to Genoa and the
church of San Lorenzo (Genoa's Cathedral). The Embriaco family's residence, the
Byblos Castle, along with the fortified town, served as an important military base for the Crusaders. The remains of the castle are among the most impressive architectural structures now visible in the town centre. The town was taken by
Saladin in 1187, re-taken by the Crusaders, and conquered by
Baibars in 1266, but it remained in the possession of the Embriacos until around 1300. Having voluntarily surrendered to the Mamluks, the city was relatively spared from looting following its capture. Its fortifications were subsequently restored by
Baybars. From 1516 until 1918, the town and the whole region became part of the
Ottoman Empire.
Contemporary history Byblos and all of Lebanon were placed under
French Mandate from 1920 until 1943 when Lebanon achieved independence. The
2006 Lebanon War negatively affected the ancient city by covering its harbour and town walls with an oil slick that was the result of an oil spill from a nearby power plant. During the
2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon,
UNESCO gave Byblos and 33 other cultural sites enhanced protection to safeguard them against
damage. ==Demographics==