Names

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

Introduction

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.

Maps and Plans

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)

Chronology

551 CE tsunami

Marriner et al (2008) reported on 20 cores taken in Beirut's buried ancient harbor; none of which contained apparent tsunamites. However, the tsunami may have left evidence in other parts of the city. Some of their discussion regarding tsunamogenic evidence is discussed below:

Excavations undertaken in Beirut's harbour by Curvers et al. have revealed the presence of tree branches and considerable amounts of unabraded Roman pottery and rubble in 6-7th century AD layers (Curvers, personal communication). Surveys in the Ottoman harbour have unearthed harbour muds and silts which lie unconformably above sea-scoured bedrock (Curvers and Stuart, 2004). These have been attributed to tsunami action and indirectly infer considerable damage to the city's seaport infrastructure. This archaeological evidence, coupled with the stratigraphic data, support major changes in the port's configuration at this time. At no point during the Islamic and medieval periods do we record such a well-protected harbour. In light of this, there appears to be a clear link between the retraction of the Byzantine Empire to its Anatolian core and the catastrophic destruction of many parts of Beirut, including its harbour area, during the 551 AD earthquake and tsunami.

...

Although sedimentary traces of the tsunami impacts are not observed in the cores, recent excavations suggest that the ancient sources did not exaggerate in their description of the archaeological destruction caused by the event (Curvers and Stuart, 2004). New research has yielded closely dated stratigraphic sequences at a number of dig sites that unequivocally corroborate the widespread earthquake damage (Elayi and Sayegh, 2000; Curvers and Stuart, in press). In the aftermath, Beirut underwent altering patterns of trade, production and consumption. The archaeology also shows that many parts of the city were left in partial ruin or even abandoned, with limited evidence for reconstruction. Mikati and Perring (2006) present a model of 'continuity' but degradation of urban infrastructure at post-earthquake Beirut. Dating of raised shorelines north of Beirut confirms uplift of 50-80 cm (Morhange et al., 2006).

Tsunamogenic Effects

551 CE tsunami

presence of tree branches and considerable amounts of unabraded Roman pottery and rubble in 6-7th century AD layers (Curvers, personal communication).
Surveys in the Ottoman harbour have unearthed harbour muds and silts which lie unconformably above sea-scoured bedrock (Curvers and Stuart, 2004).

Notes and Further Reading

References

Marriner, N., et al. (2008). "Geoarchaeology of Beirut's ancient harbour, Phoenicia." Journal of Archaeological Science 35(9): 2495-2516.