Colonnaded Street is located in downtown

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

. it was an important street of Roman Berytus.

Overview

A commercial street with numbered shops, dating to the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

period, was unearthed during the mid-1990s excavations. In 1996 was made the discovery of 700 sqm of

Byzantine mosaics Byzantine mosaics are mosaics produced from the 4th to 15th centuries in and under the influence of the Byzantine Empire. Mosaics were some of the most popular and historically significant art forms produced in the empire, and they are still studi ...

in the Souks area of Beirut, most dating back to the 5th and 6th centuries AD. They were recovered from five large villas and a colonnaded street with its shops. The colonnades had mosaic pavements with Greek letters marking the address of each shop. Most mosaics displayed geometric patterns, although a few incorporated figurative designs.Image of a mosaic from Colonnaded street, with map
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Construction

prospered during

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

and

times, until the earthquake of 551 AD destroyed the city of Roman Berytus. One of its most important streets was brought to light during the archaeological investigations of the souks site in the mid-1990s: a colonnaded shopping street with sidewalks, which connected the center to the

Hippodrome The hippodrome ( el, ἱππόδρομος) was an ancient Greek stadium for horse racing and chariot racing. The name is derived from the Greek words ''hippos'' (ἵππος; "horse") and ''dromos'' (δρόμος; "course"). The term is used i ...

Wadi Abu Jamil Wadi Abu Jamil is the former Jewish quarter in Beirut, Lebanon, located in the city's central district. History Formally known as ''Wadi al-Yahoud'' (meaning "Valley of the Jews"), the quarter was the center of the Lebanese Jewish community, wi ...

. The 400-meter-long Colonnaded street was paved with successive layers of mosaics, displaying various geometric patterns and natural motifs. More than ten shops were discovered during the excavations, each one identified by a Greek letter marked on the mosaic floor.

History

Beirut greatly prospered during Roman and Byzantine times. One of its most important streets was brought to light during the archaeological investigations of the

Beirut Souks Beirut Souks ( ar, أسواق بيروت) is a major commercial district in Beirut Central District. With over 200 shops, 25 restaurants and cafes, an entertainment center, a 14 cinema complex, periodic street markets and an upcoming department ...

site in the mid-1990s: a colonnaded shopping street with sidewalks, which connected the center to the Hippodrome or race-track in Wadi Abu Jamil. The 400-meter-long colonnaded street was paved with successive layers of mosaics, displaying various geometric patterns and natural motifs. More than ten shops of a colonnaded "Portico" were discovered during the excavations, each one identified by a Greek letter (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta…) marked on the mosaic floor. These were written from right to left in a manner similar to Arabic script because the street ran from east to west. A reproduction of the salvaged mosaics, with the Greek letters Beta, Gamma and Delta, is integrated into Souk al-Franj near its original location. The mosaic panel is in alignment with the ancient colonnaded street. A group of five columns found on the left of the St. George Maronite Cathedral, were once part of a grand colonnade of Roman Berytus: they were found in 1963.

Timeline

*551 AD: Destruction of Beirut by earthquake. *Mid-1990: Discovery of a colonnaded shopping street with sidewalks.

Notes

Bibliography

*Perring, Dominic (1997-1998) "Excavations in the Souks of Beirut: An introduction of the work of the British Lebanese team and summary report", Berytus, vol. 43: 9-34 * Seeden, Helga et al. (1995). ''Urban archaeology 1994: Excavations of the Souks Area- Beirut'',

Solidere Solidere s.a.l. is a Lebanese joint-stock company in charge of planning and redeveloping Beirut Central District following the conclusion, in 1990, of the Lebanese Civil War. By agreement with the government, Solidere has special powers of emin ...