Names

Transliterated Name	Source	Name
Byblos	Greek	Βύβλος
Byblus	Latin
Jubayl	Arabic	جبيل
Jebeil	Arabic	جبيل
Gibelet	Crusades
Giblet	Crusades
gbl	Syriac	ܓܒܠ
Gebal	Phoenician
Geval	Hebrew Bible	גבל
Kebny	Egyptian hieroglyphic records going back to the 4th-dynasty pharaoh Sneferu
Gubla	Akkadian cuneiform Amarna letters to the 18th-dynasty pharaohs Amenhotep III and IV.

Introduction

Byblos is located on the Phoenician coast and has a long history of occupation dating back more than 7000 years. The name for the Bible is derived from Byblos as Egyptian papyrus was shipped to Greece via Byblos (Martha Sharp Joukowsky in Meyers et al, 1997).

Maps and Sections

Simplified structural map of Lebanon from Morhange et al (2006)

Figure 2

Simplified structural map of Lebanon and studied sites.

Morhange et al (2006)
Raised Benches at Ilot du Phare (Tripoli)

Figure 3

On the northern part of Ilot du Phare (Tripoli), marks of a double raised bench have been preserved. The lowest step, at approx. +1 m (above present MSL), comprises Dendropoma dated 2630 ± 35 BP (403-265 cal. BC). The outer part of the upper step, at approx. +1.2 m, has been dissected by erosion, but on the inner part, that corresponds to the base of a tidal notch, a thin cover of in situ Dendropoma petraeum shells have been collected and dated 5975 ± 40 BP (4514-4339 cal. BC).

Morhange et al (2006)

from Morhange et al (2006)
Photo of raised shoreline at Ilot du Phare

Figure 4

On Ilot du Phare, a double, stepped biological bioconstruction has been preserved on the walls of a rock fissure, at approx. +1 and +1.3 m, respectively (arrows). The upper rim could not be reached for sampling, but the two organic cornices clearly indicate, with an uncertainty of ± 0.2 m, the position of the biological sea level corresponding to two former shorelines (Photo G672). The lower rim was dated 2630 ± 35 BP (403-265 cal. BC).

Morhange et al (2006)

from Morhange et al (2006)

Chronology

Potential Historical Tsunami Date Assignments from Megablocks

Morhange et al (2006:90-91) discussed the megablock evidence

It is an oversimplification to attribute the tsunami triggering mechanism solely to earthquake-induced seabed faulting. In some areas sediment slides may be the dominant factor of tsunami generation. In other areas, extreme storm surges leave facies which cannot be unequivocally differentiated from tsunami signatures. For example in Haifa, northern Israel a huge block was projected onto the beach during the severe storm of 2002 (Galili, pers. commun., Fig. 14). Although present day storms in the Mediterranean may displace blocks of significant size, a tsunami origin seems a feasible explanation for most of the megablocks encountered on the Lebanon coasts.

A review of the vertical movements having affected Lebanon during the late Holocene shows that tectonic uplift of the coastal areas occurred around 3000 yr BP, in the 6th century AD, and possibly in the 10th to 11th centuries AD (Pirazzoli 2005, Morhange et al., submitted). It is important to note that none of these periods coincides with the megablock dates. This suggests that they were possibly projected by waves coming from outer tsunamigenic areas. It is surprising to note that the 4th and 5th centuries AD (e.g. the tsunami of 365 AD), a period of tectonic paroxysm in the eastern Mediterranean (Pirazzoli 1986, Pirazzoli et al. 1996), are not represented by the dated megablocks.

Correlation with chronicled tsunami events is given in Table 1. Tsunami and earthquake catalogues do not provide any information on the mid-Holocene date from Ile du Palmier. Conversely, displacement of the Byblos megablocks are consistent with the 1456 AD, and 1534 or 1546 AD tsunami events, whereas the dated Senani island megablock could have been projected by any of the tsunami events reported in the area in 1752,1759,1822,1856, or 1870 AD.

Table 1

Tentative correlation between radiocarbon dates obtained from megablocks sampled on the Lebanon coast and historical tsunamis reported by catalogues for the Eastern Mediterranean (coastal areas indicated by catalogues as tsunami-affected are added in brackets).

Morhange et al (2006)

~1000 BCE CE Coastal Uplift

Morhange et al (2006:91) noted that

A review of the vertical movements having affected Lebanon during the late Holocene shows that tectonic uplift of the coastal areas occurred around 3000 yr BP, in the 6th century AD, and possibly in the 10th to 11th centuries AD (Pirazzoli 2005, Morhange et al., submitted).

551 CE tsunami

Carayon et al (2011) discussed 6 cores taken in Byblos - 2 in northern harbor and 4 in the bat of El-Skhiny. The study focused on geomorphic evolution of the harbor. Core profiles were not presented. There is no mention of tsunamogenic evidence.

Morhange et al (2006:91) noted that

A review of the vertical movements having affected Lebanon during the late Holocene shows that tectonic uplift of the coastal areas occurred around 3000 yr BP, in the 6th century AD, and possibly in the 10th to 11th centuries AD (Pirazzoli 2005, Morhange et al., submitted).

10th - 11th century CE Coastal Uplift

Morhange et al (2006:91) noted that

A review of the vertical movements having affected Lebanon during the late Holocene shows that tectonic uplift of the coastal areas occurred around 3000 yr BP, in the 6th century AD, and possibly in the 10th to 11th centuries AD (Pirazzoli 2005, Morhange et al., submitted).

Notes and Further Reading

References

Carayon, N. and N. Marriner (2011). "Geoarchaeology of Byblos, Tyre, Sidon and Beirut." Rivista di studi fenici XXXIX: 55-66.

Morhange, C., Marriner, Nick, Pirazzoli, P. (2006). "Evidence of late Holocene tsunami events in Lebanon." Zeitschrift fur Geomorphologie 146: 81-95.

Bibliography from Meyers et al (1997)

Albright, William Foxwell. "The Eighteenth-Century Princes of Byblos and the Chronology of thee Middle Bronze. " Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, no . 17 6 (Nov. 1989): 38-46.

Breasted, James H, Ancient Records of Egypt: Historical Documents from the Earliest Times to the Persian Conquest. 5 vols. Chicago, 1906-1907.

Dunand , Maurice. Fouilles de Byblos. 5 vols. Paris, 1937-1958.

Dunand , Maurice. "Rapport preliminaire sur les fouilles de Byblos." Bulletin duMusiede Beyrouth 9 (1949-1950): 53-74 ; 12 (1955): 7-23 ; 13 (1956): 73-86 ; 16 (1964): 69-85. Reports by the site's most prolific excavator.

Dunand , Maurice. Byblos: Its History, Ruins, and Legends. 2d ed. Beirut, 1968.

Jidejian, Nina. Byblos through the Ages. Beirut, 1968. Comprehensive history of Byblos through tine ages, with strong coverage of ancient, classical, and contemporary references. Includes a good bibliography through the late 1960s.

Joukowsky, Mardia Sharp. The Young Archaeologist in the Oldest Port City in the World. Beirut, 1988, Children's book exploring the history and archaeology of Byblos

Montet, Pierre. Byblos et I'Egypte: Quatre campagnes de fouilles d Gebeil 1021-1024. Paris, 1929. Comprehensive publication of four early expeditions.

Pritchard, James B. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Tes~ lament. 3d ed, with supp. Princeton, 1978.

Renan, Ernest. Mission de Phenicie. Paris, 1864. One of the earliest works on Phoenician sites.

Tufhell, Olga, and William A. Ward. "Relations between Byblos, Egypt, and Mesopotamia at the End of the Third Millennium B.C. " Syria 43 (1966): 165-241 . Specialized study of the Montet jar and its contents; see Ward and Dever (below) for a recent study of the jar.

Ward, William A. "Egypt and the East Mediterranean in the Early Second Millennium B. C. " Or 30 (1961): 22-45 , 129-155.

Ward, William A. "Egypt and the East Mediterranean from Pre-Dynastic Times to die End of the Old Kingdom. " Journal of Economic and Social History of the Orient 6 (1963): 1-57. Survey of political and cultural relations between Egypt, Asia, and the Aegean world.

Ward, William A., and William G. Dever. Studies on Scarab Seals. Vol. 3, Scarab Typologies and Archaeological Context. San Antonio, 1994. See chapter 4 for the most recent study of the Montet jar and its contents.

Mega Blocks on the Coast

Description	Image	Source
Ilot du Palmier megablock	Figure 5 Ilot du Palmier is characterised by numerous megablocks, 50 to 100 m from the present coastline. The volume of the photographed megablock is approx. 3.5 m³. Superficial Dendropoma crusts yielded a radiocarbon age of 5155 ± 40 BP (3639-3489 cal. BC). Morhange et al (2006)	Fig. 5 - Morhange et al (2006)
Senani island megablock	Figure 6 On Senani island, megablocks are scattered on the windward side. Morhange et al (2006)	Fig. 6 - Morhange et al (2006)
Senani island megablock	Figure 7 A large tsunami block on Senani island approx. 30m³ and 10 m from the shoreline is encrusted with biological remains dated 525 ± 40 BP (1690-1950 cal. AD). Morhange et al (2006)	Fig. 7 - Morhange et al (2006)
South of Enfe megablock	Figure 8 South of Enfe, rare cyclopean blocks arc covered by Dendropoma. Photo of a 12 m³ block radio-carbon dated to modern times (Ly 11578). Morhange et al (2006)	Fig. 8 - Morhange et al (2006)
Byblos megablock	Figure 9 Byblos, a 5.5 m³ block projected towards the base of the ancient sea wall, encrusted with upper subtidal vermetid shells, dated 855 ± 30 yr BP (1436-1511 cal. AD). Morhange et al (2006)	Fig. 9 - Morhange et al (2006)
Byblos megablock	Figure 10 20 m³ conglomerate block at Byblos, dated 710 ± 30 yr BP (1528-1673 cal. AD). Morhange et al (2006)	Fig. 10 - Morhange et al (2006)

Abstract of Morhange et al (2006) - Megablock tsunami evidence

Summary. We present new evidence of megablocks left by extreme waves around the Tripoli islands and Byblos, northern Lebanon. On Ile du Palmier, megablocks have been projected a distance of 50 to 100 m from the shoreline. A Dendropoma bioconstruction was sampled from the outer part of one of the blocks, approx. 3.5 m3 in size and located 60 m from the shore. It dates a mid-Holocene event (5155 ± 40 14C years BP, or 3639-3489 cal. yr BC) deriving from the west. On the nearby island of Senani, numerous megablocks are scattered on the flat island surface. Their position again suggests projection by westerly waves. One of the blocks, approx. 30 m3 in size and 10 m from the shoreline, yielded a radiocarbon age of 525 ± 40 BP (1690-1950 cal. AD). Further south, at Byblos, a 5.5 m3 block projected towards the base of the ancient sea wall, was encrusted with upper subtidal vermetid shells, constrained to 855 ± 30 yr BP (1436-1511 cal. AD). A nearby 20 m3 conglomerate block was dated 710 ± 30 yr BP (1528-1673 cal. AD). A tsunami origin seems a feasible explanation for most of the megablocks encountered. Review of the vertical movements having affected the Lebanese coast during the late Holocene shows that major uplift of coastal areas occurred around 3000 yr BP, in the 6th century AD, and possibly in the 10th to 11th centu¬ries AD. None of these periods coincide with the megablock dates, suggesting that the tsunami waves derived from outer tsunamigenic areas.