Beirut: Minister of Culture Dr. Ghassan Salam©, in the presence of Director General of Antiquities, Engineer Sarkis Khoury, received the book "Byblos et la Mer" from underwater archaeology expert Dr. Martine Francis-Allouche during a meeting at his office at the National Library in Sanayeh.
According to National News Agency - Lebanon, the book offers a comprehensive study on the ancient harbor of Byblos and the maritime trade that thrived during the Bronze and Iron Ages in the Levant. It highlights the export of coniferous timber, particularly cedar, across the Mediterranean, primarily to Egypt.
Dr. Francis-Allouche noted that her research was inspired by historical sources referencing a commercial harbor in Byblos and the exploitation of its forests over millennia. Over the past 15 years, she has engaged in geo-archaeological fieldwork in Byblos' marine and coastal areas, supported by the Honor Frost Foundation. Surveys confirmed a buried basin at the southern foothills of the Byblos Acropolis, considered one of the oldest harbor facilities in the Eastern Mediterranean, covering over 20,000 square meters with a depth of around three meters.
Dr. Martine Francis-Allouche is set to receive the Max SERRES Prize for her book from the Acad©mie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (AIBL) in Paris next November.