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By around 3,000 BC, Byblos was inhabited by
Canaanites, or Phoenicians, and became the first Phoenician city to trade
actively with the Egyptian Old Kingdom.Byblos developed into the most
important commercial center in the eastern Mediterranean, trading cedar,
olive oil, and wine for gold, alabaster, papyrus, and other goods from the
Egyptian pharaohs.In the royal necropolis at Byblos can be found the nine
underground tombs of the Byblos kings.
Perhaps the Phoenicians’ most impressive contribution to the world is the
development of the first alphabetic phonetic script, the precursor of the
modern-day alphabet. It is believed that scholars of Byblos developed the
Phoenician alphabet. The oldest evidence of the Phoenician alphabet
discovered to date is the inscription on the sarcophagus of King Ahiram of
Byblos (1,200 BC), which is now on display at the National Museum in Beirut.
 Following
the conquest by Alexander the Great, Byblos fell under Greek rule and adopted
the Greek language and culture. The Greeks gave the city its name of Byblos,
which means “papyrus,” or “paper.” The city was an important center for
papyrus, on which many religious texts, public documents, private letters,
astronomical, and mathematical texts were written.
In the first century BC, the Romans took Byblos, and constructed large
temples, baths, and other buildings. Artifacts of the Roman era include the
remains of a Roman theater (218 AD), columns lining the ancient colonnaded
street, and a Roman nympheum (a monumental public fountain). Roman rule in
Byblos was followed by Byzantine rule (395-637 AD) and then Arab rule
(637-1104 AD).There are few archaeological remains of these periods.
In 1104, Byblos was conquered by the Crusaders, who used the large Roman
stones and columns to construct their own castle and a moat. This castle was
later reused and renovated by the Mamlukes (13th-16th centuries AD) and the
Ottomans (16th-20th centuries AD). Today, the 12th century crusader castle
towers over the Byblos ruins, and climbing to the top of the castle is an
excellent vantage point for taking in a panoramic view of the ruins and the
Mediterranean Sea.
 Before
Byblos was excavated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, these layers
of ruins were buried in earth, forming a mound nearly 12 meters high, and
covered with houses and gardens.Over the last
century, historians have excavated the site, digging through each layer of
stone and earth to uncover a unique period of history in this port city.
Modern visitors to Byblos can undertake their own historical excavation here,
exploring the layers of ruins and artifacts to unearth the ancient
civilizations of Lebanon.
Lebanese Ministry of Tourism
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Historians
believe that the site of Byblos dates back at least 7,000 years (beginning
around 5,000-4,000 BC), when a small Neolithic fishing community settled
along the shore of the Mediterranean. From that period onward, new settlers
brought new ways of life and new customs, leaving a variety of artifacts and
the remnants of houses and buildings that trace the city’s ancient history.
Today’s visitors can see the remains of several Stone Age huts with crushed
limestone floors, the foundations of Chalcolithic houses (4,000-3,000 BC),
the vestiges of an Early Bronze Age residence, and the remains of ancient
Phoenician defensive ramparts and temples.