Byblos

Byblos, ancient Phoenician city, on the Mediterranean Sea, near present-day Beirut, Lebanon. Extensive archaeological investigations, begun in 1921, indicate that Byblos is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, with remains of civilizations dating from about 5000 bc. It was the principal city of Phoenicia and an important seaport during the 2nd millennium bc, when it exported cedar and other woods to Egypt. The name “Byblos”, applied by the Greeks to papyrus, which they imported from Byblos, is the source of the word “Bible”. “Gebal” was the city’s biblical name; the Book of Ezekiel (27:9) mentions the maritime pursuits of its inhabitants. The ruins of Byblos were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. The city of Byblos is now occupied by a Lebanese village called Jubayl. In 2006 the ancient city was damaged by an oil spill caused by the Israeli military incursion in Lebanon. Oil storage tanks south of Beirut were attacked and the slick spread up the coast and into Byblos harbour, affecting sand and stone there as well as marine life.