Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (16.2004(2005))

JIYEH

LEBANON

consciousness to the locality of Sykaminon,
supposed to lie near modern Haifa. Sources
from the period mention a bishopric there
(Ant. Plac. Itin. 3). The site must have de-

clined after that and may have even been
abandoned for some centuries before the
villages of Nebi Younis and Jiyeh rose on its
ruins.

SITE TOPOGRAPHY AND EXCAVATIONS IN 2003-2004

The shores of a large and shallow bay were
an excellent site for settlement, considering
the presence of abundant water in many
wells and the excellent situation on a coastal
route. Moreover, the mountains coming
down practically to the shore and leaving
only a narrow isthmus in the southern part
of the bay imparted a strategic importance
on the area.
The flat coast north of the isthmus,
stretching for about 2 km, supported an

ancient town of still unknown extent. The
present archaeological site [cf. Fig. 1 on
p. 424] is just 100 by 150 m and contains
the Christian basilica and residential
district excavated in 1975 [Fig- 1]. In
1998, illegal agricultural activities in the
area immediately to the north of the ruins
led to the planting of this area, discovering
a mosaic depiction of a river deity in the
process.6 The ancient necropolis lying on
terraces another 200 m to the north became


Fig. 1. General view of the site in 1997 with the remains of late antique architecture in the
foreground (Photo K. Kotlewski)

6 R. Ortali-Tarazi, T. Waliszewski, "La mosaique du Nil decouverte a Jiye", Bulletin d'Archeologie et d'Architecture
Libanaises IV (2000), 165-177.

421