The Lebanese-Italian Archaeological Project in the Region of Tyre: A Landscape Approach to Archaeology and History

Abstract

The Lebanese-Italian Archaeological Project in the Region of Tyre is a collaboration between the Director¬ate-General of Antiquities, Sapienza University of Rome, and the Lebanese University, on archaeological research and cultural heritage protection and promotion in the areas to the east and south of the present-day Tyre peninsula, represented, respectively, by Tell Mashouk, Shawakeer, and Ras el-Ain. These regions, which are traditionally connected with the historical quest for Palaeo-Tyre, must have played an important role in the development of Tyre through the ages; however, little archaeological investigation has been car¬ried out there in the past. Therefore, the Lebanese-Italian Archaeological Project in the Region of Tyre aim is to study patterns of human occupation, land and sea use, and water management in this coastal landscape in the environs of Tyre with a multi-level analytical approach. In this article we outline the geographic, topographical, and historical backgrounds of the project’s areas, summarize past research there, and give an overview of the project’s wider scopes and general aims. This will provide the framework to contextualize, present, and discuss our landscape approach to the study of archaeology and history of the greater Tyre region from a methodological point of view. We will also discuss its implications for sustainable cultural heritage protection and promotion in this unique maritime landscape of southern Lebanon.