Harbours of the central Levantine Coast from the late Bronze and Iron Age periods

Abstract

Since the dawn of time, the coasts of the eastern Mediterranean have been rich in maritime activity. At various periods in history, (for example, the early Bronze Age) these coasts served as highways and trading routes connecting various civilizations. Millenniums of commerce, seafaring, marine wars, and fishing have left an enormous amount of archaeological remains and artifacts on the coast and seabed in the heart of the eastern Mediterranean, particularly in Lebanon. There shipwrecks, ports, anchorages, and submerged rock-cut coastal installations have established its maritime archaeological heritage and mark large portion of human history as ancient as the exportation of the alphabets. This study focuses on two major points: the ancient texts that illustrate ports on the eastern Mediterranean sailing from Byblos, Tyre, and other Levantine cities, mainly to Egypt; and the underwater archaeological surveys on the ancient harbour of Tyre and Byblos. Despite the uncertainty regarding the existence of harbour installation in the Bronze Age, it is certain that various forms of ports were used at the time to transport freights using sizable vessels that correspond to the period, and were big enough to handle the bulky cargoes of the era. Major changes in the eastern Mediterranean occurred during the 12th century BC with the disappearance of the two great-centralized states that exercised the role of police in territory, the Hittites and the Egyptians. Egypt did not disappear from the scene completely, but lost control over Canaan during the middle of the 12th century BC. (Finkelstein and Piasetzky, 2009: 373-386).