Temple of the Obelisks

Temple of the Obeliques, Lebanon.
Shown within Lebanon
Location	Byblos
Coordinates	34°07′08″N 35°38′50″E / 34.11889°N 35.64722°E / 34.11889; 35.64722
Site notes
Excavation dates	1922

The Temple of the Obelisks ( French: Temple aux Obelisques, Arabic: معبد الأنصاب maebad al'ansab), also known as the L-shaped Temple and Temple of Resheph ^[1] was an important Bronze Age temple structure in the World Heritage Site of Byblos. ^[2] It is considered "perhaps the most spectacular" of the ancient structures of Byblos. ^[3] It is the best preserved building in the Byblos archaeological site. ^[4]

Almost all of the artefacts found in the excavation of the temple are displayed at the National Museum of Beirut. ^[3] It was excavated by French archaeologist Maurice Dunand from 1924-73. The original temple is now in two parts: the base is known as "the L-shaped temple", and the top is known as the "Temple of the Obelisks"; the latter was moved 40 meters east during Maurice Dunand's excavations. ^[2]

Dunand uncovered 1306 Byblos figurines – ex-voto offerings, including faience figurines, weapons, and dozens of bronze-with-gold-leaf figurines – which have become the "poster child" of the Lebanese Tourism Ministry. ^[5]

Description

Base: L Shaped Temple

The L-shaped Temple was constructed around 2600 BCE, ^[6] two centuries after the construction of the Temple of Baalat Gebal (approximately 100m to the west) had been built. ^[6] It was named the " L-shaped" temple by Dunand, as its two rooms and the courtyard were arranged in such a shape. ^[6]

The temple had well built walls and temples, in contrast to the later Obelisk temple. ^[2] It is thought that the L-shaped temple was burned down at the end of the Early Bronze Age. ^[7]

Top: Obelisk Temple

The Temple of the Obelisks was constructed around 1600 BCE ^{[ citation needed]} on top of the L-shaped temple, retaining its general outline. ^[2] The temple's name, given by Dunand, refers to a number of obelisks and standing stones located in a court around the cella. ^[7] The Abishemu obelisk has been interpreted to include a dedication to Resheph, a Canaanite war god, although this is disputed. ^[7] Another obelisk has a hieroglyphic inscription Middle Bronze Age king of Byblos Ibishemu, praising the Egyptian god Heryshaf. ^[7]

Since it had been built on top of the L-shaped temple, it was necessary for Dunand to dismantle and move this upper temple in order to excavate the L-shaped temple beneath. ^[2]

In contrast to the L-shaped temple beneath, the Obelisk Temple was built with irregular walls. ^[2]

Modern identification and excavation

The temple was first identified by Dunand. ^{[8] [7]} The majority of the obelisks found were underground in their original positions, standing upright, while a few others were discovered buried in a favissa (a well for votive deposits). ^[7]

• 
  1959 view of the temple base and top
• 
  Montet's 1924 diagram of the Byblos archaeological site
• 
  Montet's 1924 diagram of the Byblos temples
• 
  The Byblos figurines
• 
  The Abishemu obelisk

References

Sources

• Boda, Sharon La (1994). International Dictionary of Historic Places: Middle East and Africa. Taylor & Francis. ISBN  978-1-884964-03-9.
• Bryce, Trevor (10 September 2009). The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia: The Near East from the Early Bronze Age to the Fall of the Persian Empire. Routledge. ISBN  978-1-134-15908-6.
• Kilani, Marwan (24 October 2019). Byblos in the Late Bronze Age: Interactions Between the Levantine and Egyptian Worlds. Brill. ISBN  978-90-04-41659-8.
• Michaelides, Demetrios (2001), Report on Mission to Byblos (Lebanon), International Council on Monuments and Sites

Archaeological reports

• Dunand, Maurice (1937). Fouilles de Byblos: Atlas : 1926-1932. P. Geuthner.

Further reading

• Finkbeiner, Uwe [in German] (1981). Untersuchungen zur Stratigraphie des Obeliskentempels in Byblos: Versuch einer methodischen Auswertung. G. Mann.
• Miniaci, Gianluca. Deposit f (Nos. 15121–15567) in the Obelisk Temple at Byblos: Artefact Mobility in the Middle Bronze Age I–II (1850–1650 BC) between Egypt and the Levant, Aegypten und Levante 28, 379-408.
• Sala, Maura (2008). "Temple En L A Biblo" (PDF). Vicino Oriente. Vol. XIV. pp. 61–87.

External links

• Media related to Temple of the Obelisks at Wikimedia Commons