Agricultural resources on the coastal plain of Sidon during the Late Iron Age: archaeobotanical investigations at Phoenician Tell el-Burak, Lebanon

Abstract

With regard to Near Eastern archaeobotanical investigations, Lebanon is still underrepresented. Archaeobotanical data have been obtained from only a few excavation sites, mostly from the Phoenician settlement of Tell el-Burak. The site is situated on the southern coastal plain of Sidon, between Sidon and Tyre. Continuous sampling throughout six seasons of excavations have enabled the detailed investigation of the archaeobotanical material from the site. Due to the fine stratigraphic resolution there, it is possible to examine the development of agricultural resources through the 400 years of Phoenician occupation. Additionally, systematic sampling has allowed investigation of the spatial distribution of botanical remains within certain building structures. The combination of the archaeological results with the data from the charcoal and seeds reinforces the assumption that Tell el-Burak was established by the city of Sidon or the nearby city of Sarepta as a production and trade centre for wine and possibly olive oil. The agricultural resources of grapes and olives were most probably cultivated in the immediate vicinity of the settlement and probably along the western slopes of the hill country further inland.