Archaeological Excavations Discovered in Downtown Beirut

As I promise in my previous post, here I am in this new post trying to put in your hands a glance at what was discovered in the first site works, concerning the discoveries found in various archaeological excavations sites located in downtown Beirut.

As you can see in the map shown below, the archeological excavations are marked with the color velvet and are almost located within the area limited from the West by the "Place de L'étoile" or the Parliament Square, and from the East by the "Martyrs' Square", as indicated by the red circle.

A Solidere Map showing the Archeological Area (Photo: Credits to SOLIDERE) Brochure: The Paths of History 1994

In fact, there was only one large site, which includes all the traces of the old civilizations that passed through the city during the past ages. And all other archaeological excavations discovered were more or less important unless the finding of some potteries and other mosaics pavers and colonnade, found here and there, etc…

This has been said; I did solve or find the way out concerning the first block of my project conception, as was mentioned in my previous post: THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE LOCATION, and I will explain how. 

As it is shown on the map above: This is the new Master Plan of Beirut (as being modified later) which is like a zoning map, that includes the various areas divided and classified into different functional zones, like housing, commercial, entertainment, or other…

As we can see, the velvet area (named Archaeological Area) is the most demanded area, and it is the only unique one. The other parts that include the rest of the funds are not considered as appropriate, as the first one. It is specified as a preserved area, which means it has the essential qualifications to be a conservative area. And it is important somehow.

The main qualities required to find such areas are to be environmentally protected and safe.

And as per my investigation with the archeologists and related people that were present on the site, they confirmed that it is the best place to be the preserved or conservative site for the finds, because of its natural entourage of already-preserved-architecturally-significant buildings.

That is what we will discover in the next lines... We are referring to those four monumental edifices, and mainly religious, listed below:

• The St. George Maronites Cathedral.
• The St. Georges' Greek Orthodox Cathedral. 
• The St. Elias Greek Catholic Cathedral.
• And finally, The Mohammed Al-Amin Mosque for the Islamic sect. (Not yet built at this time)

Yes, it’s a pure coincidence or perhaps it is God's Will, accidentally or unintentionally, to prove the national unity of the Lebanese people, as always, and this time in their deep common history.

So, let’s stop by and have a glance at those historical monumental and architectural buildings:

1- Cathedral Saint George of the Maronites

Built around the year 1894 by the Archbishop of Beirut, Mgs. Debs, after the model of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. It replaced an old and smaller church belonging to the same religious affiliation.

The Cathedral in its several stages, from recent till early - (Photo: Credits to Wikipedia.org)

Its Ottoman basement vaults served in the early period of the archaeological excavations as one of the best city’s environmental relevancy as archaeological workshops.

2- Cathedral Saint George for the Greek Orthodoxes

Good to note that the existing foundations of the cathedral were rich in plenty of interesting objects related to a prior era. Which requests more delicate and professional work to extract those pieces without damaging them. We can still visit the cathedral and explore its treasures through a glazed floor, specially created to let visitors witness its precious heritage.

3- The St Elias Greek Catholic Cathedral

It is a Melkite Greek Catholic cathedral dedicated to Saint Elias, completely restored after the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) on previous constructions dating to a Choueirite convent from the 19th century. Its plan followed the Byzantine style.

The St Elias Greek Catholic Cathedral in Beirut Downtown (Photo: Credits to Wikipedia.org)

4- The Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque

Also referred to as the Blue Mosque, an Islamic Sunni Muslim mosque located in downtown Beirut, Lebanon. It is not similar to other archaeological buildings, but like the others have an interesting history since a zawiya (prayer corner) was built on this site, in the 19th century. Although it was recently constructed, the beauty of this religious edifice quickly put it at top of the most visited tourist destinations in the middle east.

Based mainly on mosque architecture, this amazing building has become a landmark for the city, and a symbol for many events taking place in the nearby Martyrs' Square.

It took decades of preparation to obtain sufficient land adjacent to the old Zawiya led finally to the building of the new mosque as seen today. It was inaugurated in 2008.

At the end of this post, and in the next posts, I will be getting a full review of the archaeological excavations and their primitive status, with many exclusive and rare photos taken on-site at the time of the works. I felt proud somehow when I stayed there and contemplated all that treasure of heritage that was buried here down and unknown for thousands of years ago within downtown Beirut.

"Thanks to the war, all were discovered and revealed now..."