The Roman new town of Berytus. Archaeology of a Roman colonia in the Levant

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Winfried Held
• Subject Area: Classical, Roman, Christian and Islamic Archaeology
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 499369533

Berytus is one of the old Phoenician cities. In the late Hellenistic period it was influenced by the neighbouring small kingdoms of the Ituraeans and of Iudaea, which became Roman client kingdoms after the conquest by Pompey in 64 BC. In 15 BC, Berytus enhanced the status of a Roman colonia, where veterans of two Roman legions settled down. Its territory included the Bekaa valley which until 24 BC has been ruled by the Ituraeans. In more than one respect, Berytus was an exceptional colonia: It initially was the only colonia in the Roman East, it had a huge territory, and it was the singular case of a colonia founded within an existing city. In the focus of the project are the cultural processes going along with the foundation of the colonia, especially the material culture of the old and new inhabitants of Berytus, their respective delimitation or assimilation, and the influence of the neighbouring client kingdoms. For the following centuries of the Roman Imperial period, the question of the continuation of this special status of Berytus will be in the centre of the research; indications therefore are the preferred use of the Latin language and the Berytus law school.In order to answer these questions, the Roman new town of Berytus that was erected with the foundation of the colonia will be investigated. The project has access to the entire archive of the BCD Archaeology Project. It comprises a large part of the rescue excavations performed since 1993 in the city centre of Beirut that have revealed more than half of the ancient city. The planned work concentrates on the Wadi Abu Jmil quarter, the western part of ancient Berytus, where the theatre, the hippodrome, a Roman bath, and houses have been excavated. The results of the preceding project point to a hitherto unknown Augustan phase of the hippodrome that shows a close connection to the hippodrome of Caesarea Maritima and a Herodian engagement in the newly founded colonia. In the project, the study of the structures in this quarter will be concluded and published. In addition, selected types of finds will be studied, among them the lamps, the lead figurines, and the mosaics.The project is based on the Lebanese-German collaboration between the American University of Beirut and Philipps-Universität Marburg.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Lebanon
• International Co-Applicant: Professorin Dr. Hélène Sader