Lebanon Heritage Site Damaged by Israeli Bombardment
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre on June 7, 2026. (Photo by Kawnat HAJU / AFP)
Lebanon Heritage Site Damaged by Israeli Bombardment
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre on June 7, 2026. (Photo by Kawnat HAJU / AFP)
Israeli bombardment has damaged a World Heritage site in Lebanon's southern city of Tyre, a culture ministry official told AFP on Monday, as correspondents there saw debris and damage.
One of the oldest cities on the Mediterranean coast, Tyre lies around 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the Israeli border, and its UNESCO World Heritage listed ruins are located in two main areas of the city.
Israel's military has heavily bombed Tyre since the latest war erupted with Hezbollah, and on Sunday it issued a further evacuation warning that covered districts including one of the archaeological areas, known as the city site, which is home to Roman ruins.
AFP correspondents on Monday saw dust and debris close to ancient columns after the previous day's bombardment, as well as twisted metal and broken tree branches near several stone artefacts.
Concrete and metal debris also appeared to have been strewn onto a stone stairway.
Ali Badawi, regional director of archaeological sites for south Lebanon in the culture ministry, said Sunday's bombardment had had "the worst impact" on Tyre's ancient areas since the war began.
"The amount of debris and damage at the site is high," he said, noting both the direct impact, with the site's administrative office struck, and the indirect impact of debris strewn from nearby bombardment.
"Some archaeological artefacts were damaged when rubble fell on them, as debris fell over a large area, impacting a large number of elements at the site -- columns, capitals, column bases, mosaics," he said.
He said a preliminary damage assessment was underway but noted experts were not at the site due to the danger, adding that UNESCO had been notified.
Since a previous round of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah which erupted in 2023, UNESCO has granted more than 70 heritage sites in Lebanon, including Tyre, "provisional enhanced protection," the organisation's highest level of legal protection.
"This is a civilian site, a World Heritage site, it's not a military site at all, and there are no military activities there," Badawi said.
He noted the other part of the site in Tyre, Al-Bass, had been damaged earlier in the conflict.
Late last month, Lebanon's Culture Minister Ghassan Salame told AFP that Israeli strikes on the country's south were putting heritage sites in "serious danger".
Crafts and Handicrafts Exhibition 2026 Kicks off Tomorrow in Eastern Regionhttps://english.aawsat.com/culture/5313038-crafts-and-handicrafts-exhibition-2026-kicks-tomorrow-eastern-region
Crafts and Handicrafts Exhibition 2026 Kicks off Tomorrow in Eastern Region
The exhibition will run until September 4 - SPA
Eastern Region Deputy Governor Prince Saud bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz will inaugurate the ninth edition of the Crafts and Handicrafts Exhibition 2026 on Tuesday.
Organized by Asharqia Chamber, the exhibition will feature a number of artisans, craftswomen, families working in the cottage industry, and visual artists, along with several government and private entities and non-profit organizations, SPA reported. It will run until September 4.
The exhibition will showcase a diverse range of traditional crafts, including paintings and decorations, perfumes and incense, sweets, coffee, and spices.
Lebanon Archaeological Finds Showcase Rich Heritage Despite War Woeshttps://english.aawsat.com/culture/5312435-lebanon-archaeological-finds-showcase-rich-heritage-despite-war-woes
An archaeologist displays an artifact found from an archaeological site in the northern coastal Lebanese town of Batroun on August 14, 2026. (AFP)
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Lebanon Archaeological Finds Showcase Rich Heritage Despite War Woes
An archaeologist displays an artifact found from an archaeological site in the northern coastal Lebanese town of Batroun on August 14, 2026. (AFP)
From a Roman temple to ancient olive presses, Lebanon keeps turning up archaeological treasures even as the latest Israel-Hezbollah war has caused excavations to grind to a halt at precious heritage sites in the country's south.
Important discoveries in recent years include the remains of columns and bases from a Roman temple in Maasser al-Shouf in the mountains southeast of Beirut, nestled next to a millennia-old cedar forest.
"A whole system was built around this temple," which dates to between the first century BC and the second century AD, said Myriam Ziade, regional antiquities official with the culture ministry.
She said the site was turned into a Crusader fortress between the 12th and 13th centuries.
The local municipality reported finding huge stone blocks on the hill in 2017, and excavations began five years later with a team from an Italian university, with the dig revealing the ruins of the large temple, she told AFP.
Archaeologists are to soon resume work at the site, located "on a network of roads leading from the Mediterranean coast to the Bekaa valley" in the country's east, she said.
The eastern city of Baalbek has one of Lebanon's best-known landmarks: a stunningly well-preserved Roman temple complex set against the mountainous border with Syria.
- Protecting heritage -
Lebanon is brimming with archaeological finds showcasing its rich history over thousands of years, from the Phoenician, Persian, Roman and Byzantine periods, the Crusades, and Arab and Islamic sultanates and empires.
After Iran-backed Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in March, triggering heavy Israeli airstrikes and a ground invasion in the south, the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO last month added several Lebanese sites to its World Heritage in Danger list.
Members from the team of archaeologists work at an archaeological site in the northern coastal Lebanese town of Batroun on August 14, 2026. (AFP)
They include the southern coastal city of Tyre, home to a Roman triumphal arch and a second-century hippodrome.
The list also includes five castles in south Lebanon's Jabal Amel area, among them the Crusader-era Beaufort fortress, which Israeli forces have been occupying since May.
Sarkis Khoury, head of antiquities at Lebanon's culture ministry, told AFP the war had forced archaeologists to switch tack.
We are "now focused on protecting endangered heritage in southern Lebanon and in the Bekaa, particularly in the Baalbek region", he said.
"Excavations in dangerous areas have come to a halt, and archaeological missions are going through a period of minimal activity throughout Lebanon, especially in the southern regions."
He said foreign archaeological teams had stopped going to Lebanon.
- Ancient port city -
Still, some work continues.
In Batroun, a northern coastal city home to the ruins of a small Roman amphitheater, an archaeologist was surrounded by tools and papers, documenting the latest finds as waves lapped rocks nearby.
Samar Karam, in charge of archaeological sites in north Lebanon, said a Roman-era olive press was found on private property along with pottery weights and items for textile production.
On another nearby property overlooking an ancient sea wall, excavations revealed two stone quarries "one Roman and the other Phoenician", she said.
The ruins of rooms from Phoenician, Persian and Roman periods have been uncovered, their pink or grey flooring helping to distinguish them.
Archaeologists have found pieces of Greek pottery, as well as rooms and large jars for storing goods from the harbor, discoveries that Karam said showed the ancient city's "lively commercial activity".
Tombs in the city date to a variety of historical periods, she added.
A view of the Phoenician wall is pictured in the northern coastal Lebanese town of Batroun on August 14, 2026. (AFP)
- Hippodrome search -
In Beirut, whose history spans over 5,000 years, Laure Salloum oversees archaeological excavations in the chaotic modern city.
She said current digs were "really construction projects" where workers had stumbled across historical treasures.
A recent discovery uncovered the remains of a Roman-era olive press, while work was ongoing in central Beirut in search of "the remaining part" of a Roman hippodrome, Salloum said.
The hippodrome was initially unearthed years ago when excavations began for a commercial and residential complex.
Other accidental discoveries in the city have included a 2,000-year-old Roman bathhouse.
Such finds often cause development plans to grind to a halt.
"We're constantly making new discoveries," Khoury said.
"Lebanon is at the crossroads of a region that has been full of crises for thousands of years."
Sakaka Cultural House, Cinema Association Screen Five Short Filmshttps://english.aawsat.com/culture/5312075-sakaka-cultural-house-cinema-association-screen-five-short-films
Sakaka Cultural House, Cinema Association Screen Five Short Films
Photo by SPA
The Sakaka Cultural House, in cooperation with the Cinema Association, hosted a cultural event featuring the screening of five independent short films to promote cinema culture and showcase local productions, SPA reported.
Marking the first collaboration between the two entities, the event aimed to enrich the region's cinematic landscape, provide an interactive platform connecting audiences with filmmakers, and foster critical discussion around the themes presented in the films.
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