Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (16.2004(2005))

CHHIM

LEBANON

TEMENOS A

Work was carried out inside the temenos of
the Roman-period sanctuary with the
purpose of: 1) tracing the extent of cult
space to the south; 2) determining the na-
ture of earlier foundations from the 2nd
century AD; 3) precising the chronological
sequence of structures; and 4) understan-
ding the function of the cistern situated by
the north temple wall.
UNITS IN SECTOR A.XI
The south wall of the temenos had been
cleared in its western end partly in the
course of the previous campaign. It now



Fig. 1. Units discovered' in Sector A.XI of the
temenos, view from the west
(Photo X Waliszewski)

2 Cf. PAM XI, Reports 1999 (2000), 241.

remained to explore an area of 8.80 m to
the east and 3.50 m to the south. As else-
where, there was a deep layer of modern de-
posits, reaching 1 m in thickness where the
ground fell away to the south.
Two units, A and B, had been cleared in
2003- This year's work revealed the east wall
of unit B, unit C and perhaps yet a fourth
unit, D [Fig. 1], Partition walls, surviving
by the north wall to a height of 0.60-
0.90 m, were no more than foundation-
high at the southern ends.
The stratigraphic sequence in these four
units contrasted substantially. The lowest
layer in unit A (2.60 by 1.70 m, inside the
walls) was a thick (c. 0.90 m) and hard de-
posit, possibly man-made, containing mixed
pottery from the Bronze Age through the
1st century AD. Despite finding potential
flagstones on different levels, no trace of
any kind of floor was observed. Unit B
(2.90 by 2.50 m, inside the walls) was the
room with tannour, or bread oven, ex-
cavated in 19992 and dated on the grounds
of lst-century AD pottery. A stone-paved
floor survived in good condition in the
northern part of the unit. Resting on it was
a layer of broken plaster, most likely col-
lapsed from the walls.
An entirely different stratigraphy was
observed in unit C (3.85 by 2.90 m, inside
the walls), with stone blocks tumbled from
the north wall directly underlying the thick
modern layer. The floor, on which the
blocks rested, was covered with a tamped
yellowish-white surface, sloping downward
to the south. The south wall of units A-C
continues eastward for another 4.50 m,
where it broke off sharply. This could have
constituted yet another unit (D), to be
explored in the next season.

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