Preliminary report on a salvage campaign at Jiyeh, 2004 : the pottery production area

Abstrakt

Rescue excavations carried out at Jiyeh in 2004 were focused on recording remains of ancient structures in the northern part of the site1 . This paper presents the traces of pottery production which took place in the investigated area. The material embraces rich assemblages of common pottery, including numerous wasters dated to the Late Hellenistic and Early Roman periods. More detailed and comprehensive study of the recent discoveries will be prepared for the forthcoming Bulletin d'Archeologie et d'Architecture Libanaise (BAAL), the annual of the Lebanese Directorate General of Antiquities. The modern town of Jiyeh lies on the seashore about 20 km due south of Beirut. The site situated within the boundaries of the present Jiyeh and Nebi Younis was identified by several scholars as the Graeco-Roman Porphyreon (DUSSAUD 1927: 43, 45)2 . It consists of two parts: a habitation zone with a basilica on the southern side, and a necropolis located about 200 m north of it (Fig. 1). The site was excavated by the Directorate General of Antiquities during the early 1970s3 , but after the outbreak of the civil war in 1975 it was severely destroyed and heavily robbed by locals. Late antique habitation area uncovered at this time constitutes only a small portion of a much more vast complex, different parts of which were mentioned several times by early researchers of the 19th and 20th c. (RENAN 1861: 509-514; CONTENAU 1920: 295-305). In 1987 the clandestine excavations led the local inhabitants to a discovery of a large basilica. The mosaic pavements adorning the church were lifted and deposited at the Beit Eddine museum. The archaeological investigations were taken up again in 1997 by the Polish-Lebanese Mission working at nearby Chhim. Recently (within the last two years) a private developer started large-scale works in the northern part of the site (the necropolis area) to construct a tourist centre. Consequently, a considerable part of the necropolis was totally destroyed. Under these circumstances the necessary intervention was conducted - in close cooperation with the Directorate General of Antiquities - by the team working at Chhim. The first reconnaissance in the area, conducted in September 2003 revealed among many damaged tombs, large concentrations of fairly standard pottery fragments of the so-called brittle ware type. Some misfired pieces and other wasters showed that a common pottery production centre operated in the vicinity. This first survey did not however provide any dating evidence to indicate when this workshop was active.