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 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.
Arcehoseismic Evidence in Petra 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 Fig. 5 - Morhange et al (2006)
Senani island megablock Fig. 6 - Morhange et al (2006)
Senani island megablock Fig. 7 - Morhange et al (2006)
South of Enfe megablock Fig. 8 - Morhange et al (2006)
Byblos megablock Fig. 9 - Morhange et al (2006)
Byblos megablock 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.