| Transliterated Name | Source | Name |
|---|---|---|
| Beirut | English | |
| Bayrūt | Arabic | بيروت |
| Beyrouth | French | |
| Bērytós | Greek | Βηρυτός |
| Berytus | Latin | |
| Colonia Iulia Augusta Felix Berytus | Latin | |
| Barut | French (Crusaders) | |
| Baruth | French (Crusaders) | |
| bēʾrūt | Phoenician | |
| Biruta | Akkadian cuneiform - Amarna letters |
Beirut has a long history of occupation starting in prehistorical times. During the Byzantine period, Beirut was known as Berytus where it was
renowned in the Roman world as a commercial center but most especially for its school of law, which flourished from the third to the sixth centuries CE.(Issam Ali Khalifeh in Meyers, 1997). The Beirut Quake of 551 CE apparently caused the city to shrink in size. Archaeological excavations in the port area of Beirut where the old Roman/Byzantine city was located have been limited.
- Excavations in Beirut's city center from Mordechai (2020)
Figure 2
Excavations in Beirut's city centre, 1993-1999 (after Mikati, The Creation [cit. n. 12], p. 282)
Mordechai (2020) - Lebanese University Site from
Saghieh-Beidoun (1997)
Figure 3
The Lebanese University Site
Mordechai (2020) - Suggested Location of ancient city in Beirut from Marriner et al (2008)
Fig. 1
Early archaeological surveys tended to suggest that the ancient city lay in an area between the present port seaboard, delimited by rue Foch to the east, rue Allenby to the west and the place de l’Etoile to the south (Renan, 1864; Che´hab, 1939; Mouterde, 1942–1943; Lauffray, 1944–1945, 1946–48; de Vaumas, 1946; Mouterde and Lauffray, 1952; Davie, 1987).
Marriner et al (2008) - Port of in Beirut from Marriner et al (2008)
Fig. 4
Location of core sites at Beirut. Archaeological data from Elayi and Sayegh (2000) and Marquis (2004)
Marriner et al (2008) - BEY archaeological sites from Marriner et al (2008)
Fig. 7
Location of BEY archaeological sites discussed in the text (base map from Curvers and Stuart, 2004).
Marriner et al (2008) - Port of in Beirut from Marriner et al (2008)
Fig. 11
5000 years of coastal deformation in Beirut’s ancient harbour. Note the progressive regularisation of the coastline from a natural indented morphology to an increasingly rectilinear disposition during later periods (base image: DigitalGlobe, 2006). Archaeological data from Elayi and Sayegh (2000) and Marquis (2004).
Marriner et al (2008)
Figure 5South Section
JW: Flame features are drawn in the bottom layer of the section.
Saghieh-Beydoun (2004)
Figure 4Seismites and Liquefactions
JW: Flame features are visible at the very bottom of the section (e.g. from the white part of the pole downward).
Saghieh-Beydoun (2004)
In Sector BEY 004 (Lebanese University Site ?), Saghieh-Beydoun (1997) discovered some soft sediment liquefaction features known as flame features at the base of what appears to be be a destruction layer or debris flow deposit. This deposit may be dated to the mid 6th century CE - the date of the images above are not entirely clear in the article and I don't currently have access to the report. The flame features shown in the images above are diagnostic of pore fluid overpressures which are commonly caused by liquefaction during earthquakes. Their presence at the bottom of the debris layer may suggest a tsunami debris flow deposit that was then agitated by seismic shaking that then created the liquefaction features. This observation is speculative and further investigation is warranted. These flame features could support the observation in John of Ephesus and the Annals attributed to Pseudo-Dionysius of Tell-Mahre that the tsunami preceded the earthquake suggesting, as noted by Mordechai (2020) that the main earthquake struck after a powerful foreshock. The speculative sequence of sedimentation would be deposition of a debris flow followed by earthquake induced liquefaction which created the flame features right below the base of the deposit.
Mordechai (2020) surveyed archeoseismic evidence in Beirut:
A late antique layer of destruction, followed by fire in some cases, was found in several excavation sites in the city and was attributed to the 551 earthquake based on several pieces of evidence. [54] One archaeologist described how a diagnostic sounding revealed the earthquake’s ‘horrors in an archaeological inferno over the whole [single] excavated area’ through a layer of destruction between 0.75m and 1.00m thick. [55] This layer, however, was uneven and much thinner in other areas. Other teams asserted that the buildings in their site did not collapse immediately – as evident from the absence of smashed collections of pottery and household goods. [56]Hall (2004) noted that:
Footnotes
[54] The excavations revealed objects that were buried in the debris such as a wrapped coinroll (see below), a hanging bronze polykandelon and human and animal remains near a collapsed wall, and another group of coins. For the objects, see respectively Mikati & Perring,‘Metropolis to ribat’ (cit. n. 4), pp. 47–49, Perring, ‘Excavations in the Souks’ (cit. n. 41), pp.21–23
, and M. Steiner, ‘The Hellenistic to Byzantine souk: results of the excavations at BEY 011’, ARAM 13–14 (2001–2002), pp. 113–127. Other teams were uncertain whether the destruction layer was to be dated to the sixth or seventh century. See P. Arnaud, E. Llopis & M. Bonifay,‘Bey 027 Rapport préliminaire’, BAAL 1 (1996), pp. 98–134, at p. 109.
[55] Saghieh, ‘Bey 001 & 004’ (cit. n. 46), p. 40.. M. Saghieh-Beydoun, ‘Evidence for earthquakes in the current excavations of Beirut city centre’, [in:] C. Doumet-Serhal (ed.), Decade: A Decade of Archaeology and History in the Lebanon, Beirut 2004, pp. 280–285, at p. 284 later reported finding soil liquefaction, an earthquake-related phenomenon, but did not attribute it to a dated seismic event.
[56] For layer of destruction, see for example Figure 6 in L. Badre, ‘The Greek Orthodox cathedral of Saint George in Beirut, Lebanon: The archaeological excavations and crypt museum’, JEMAHS 4 (2016), pp. 72–97, at p. 78.. For buildings not collapsing, see D. Perring et al., ‘Bey 006, 1994–1995: The souks area interim report of the AUB Project’, BAAL 1 (1996), pp. 176– 206, at pp. 196–198. K. Butcher & R. Thorpe, ‘A note on excavations in central Beirut 1994– 1996’, JRA 10 (1997), pp. 291–306, at p. 299, assert that ‘evidence for earthquake damage on the Souks site is virtually absent...’, and M. Heinz & K. Bartl, ‘Bey 024 “Place Debbas” preliminary report’, BAAL 2 (1997), pp. 236–257, at p. 256, similarly assert that ‘traces of violent destruction (earthquake) were not visible’.
Some archeological evidence has been interpreted to suggest rebuilding on a scale not quite the match of the previous construction (compare Agathias above). Lauffray has found columns of mismatched colors in a building he considers either a church or a basilica. He thinks these columns may represent replacement work after the earthquake. It is notable that Zacharias in his description of the church of Eustathius insists very strongly that the original columns were of purest white and were carefully matched. [115] When summing up the archeological evidence for Berytus, Lauffray thought that some restorations were made to the civic basilica in the sixth century AD. Lauffray also suggested that after the earthquake some of the baths and certain parts of the porticos of the streets were restored. Lauffray notes the difficulty of securely identifying the churches and some other buildings.
[115] Lauffray (1944–6) 62, referring to a colonnade indicated by five column bases.
-
Earthquake Archeological Effects chart
of Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224)
Earthquake Archeological Effects (EAE)
Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224)
| Effect | Description | Intensity |
|---|---|---|
| Collapsed Walls | inferred from collapse layer | VIII + |
| Fallen Columns | inferred | V + |