Direction
Jean-Baptiste Yon (CNRS-HiSoMa/IFPO)
How Eveha Participates
Topography
Photogrammetry
Sector co-direction
Location
Lebanon
The fourteenth excavation and architectural survey campaign of the archaeological mission at the site of Tyre-ville took place from September 27 to October 27, 2021, under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Yon (CNRS, Ifpo Beirut – USR 3135; Hisoma – UMR 5189) and Gilles Rollier (Inrap). Xavier Husson, in charge of topographical and photogrammetric work, and Aurélie Laurey, co-head of archaeological investigations in sector 7, participated in the campaign under an Éveha international agreement established in 2011.
After a 2020 intervention that was reduced in terms of time and personnel due to the pandemic, operations were able to proceed normally this year.
Sector 1
In Sector 1, known as the cathedral sector, work resumed to the north/northwest of the cathedral, near the courtyard and portico of the mosque and the canonical enclosure. A survey was undertaken outside the enclosure, continuing on from previous surveys, revealing new built elements. In addition, a fire during the summer in a large grove immediately to the west brought to light and made accessible numerous masonry structures and paved or mosaic floor levels.
The remains discovered thus complete the general plan of the area, which was little affected and documented by Mr. Chéhab’s excavations, both for the Byzantine period and for the medieval (Muslim and Frankish) and Ottoman periods.
Sector 3
In Sector 3, known as the Great Baths, an area of a few square meters was cleared and cleaned, revealing hypocaust levels that had been spared by the restorations of the second half of the 20th century, as well as a lime kiln.
In addition, the excavation of the water supply pipe for the great baths, which began in 2019, was continued, revealing a marked break in the slope and several stages of use, but no traces of fixings or pipe fragments, which would indicate that the water flowed freely inside.
Sector 7
In sector 7, known as the small baths, test pit 2 was resumed. Located behind the pools and visible hypocaust levels, it aimed to uncover the technical rooms, in particular the praefurnium: in the absence of any decisive evidence, research will have to continue towards the east.
Test pit 4, in front of the stylobate, has been completed.
To the northwest of the Decauville line, test pit 6 has identified three of the four corners of the cold pool that operated with the already known hot rooms. A marble parapet and the mosaic decorating the bottom of the pool have been partially uncovered. Filled in and subsequently covered with hydraulic plaster, this pool was probably reused as a cistern.
A survey by Mr. Chehab’s teams was spotted at the foot of one of the brick structures still standing. Its cleaning revealed hypocaust levels in place and functioning simultaneously with those located southeast of the Decauville railway.
Topographic and photogrammetric surveys
Finally, topographic surveys and photogrammetric coverage of each sector were carried out to complete the general plan of the site and enrich the library of 3D models. This topographic work was carried out on both an archaeological scale (section and survey) and an architectural scale (surveys of larger areas). It should be noted that, as in 2019, the presence of a Lebanese drone pilot enriched the documentation of aerial photographs and improved the rendering of 3D models by increasing the number of photos available for photogrammetric processing. The incorporation of this data into the site’s GIS continued, as did its incorporation into the Syslat database, which is now fully operational. The lengthy process of migrating old topographical, cartographic (GIS), and archaeological data (stratigraphic record sheets and photographs) has begun and will continue in the coming years.
