Foreword by Sarkis el-Khoury & Wim WeijlandForeword by David Kertai & Tania ZavenPart I: Exploring Byblos1. Byblos Excavations, Yesterday and TodayJulien Chanteau and Tania Zaven2. The Archive of Maurice Dunand: An Itinerary from Geneva to ByblosPatrick M. Michel3. Quarrying the SeaJeanine Abdul Massih4. Byblos World Heritage Site: A Refuge for Floral DiversityMoustapha Itani, Nivine Nasralla, Maryam Sedaghatpour, Michele Citton, Tania Zaven and Salma Talhouk5. Rescue Excavations and Their Contributions to the History of ByblosTania Zaven and Georges DoumetPart II: The origins of a harbour city6. The Neolithic of ByblosCorinne Yazbeck7. Byblos during the Chalcolithic PeriodKamal Badreshany8. The Chalcolithic Jar Burials from ByblosGassia Artin9. Byblos during the Early Bronze AgeMichel de Vreeze10. The First Defensive Systems at ByblosZiad Jalbout11. Tell Fadous-Kfarabida: A Regional Perspective on ByblosHermann Genz12. Byblos and the Early Egyptian StateKarin Sowada13. The Connections between Byblos and Mesopotamia during the Early Bronze Age as Seen from the Ebla ArchivesMaria Giovanna BigaPart III: The focal point of the Mediterranean Sea14. Byblos during the Middle Bronze AgeYasmine Makaroun15. The Bronze Age Harbour of ByblosMartine Francis-Allouche16. The Relations between Byblos and Egypt during the Middle Bronze AgeHanan Charaf17. Byblos: Egypt´s Gateway to the Levant and beyond during the Bronze AgeAlex Ahrends18. The Tale of Sinuhe: A Glimpse of Byblos from Middle Kingdom EgyptRichard Parkinson19. Byblos and the Mediterranean during the Middle Bronze Age I as Seen from the Mari ArchivesNéle Ziegler20. A New Middle Bronze Age Necropolis on the Byblos AcropolisJulien Chanteau and Tania Zaven21. The Early and Middle Bronze Age Deposits at ByblosMichel de Vreeze22. The Metal Figurines from ByblosCamilla Saler and Gianluca Miniaci23. Weapons, Metals and Identities in Middle Bronze Age I ByblosZiad El Morr24. Faience Animals from the Obelisk TempleLayla abi Zeid25. Byblos and the Seals of the Green Jasper WorkshopVanessa Boschloos26. The Scarabs from ByblosVanessa Boschloos27. The Byblos ScriptBen Haring28. The History of Byblos during the Late Bronze AgeMarvan Kilani29. Byblos and its Architecture during the Late Bronze AgeMarvan Kilani30. Relations between Sidon and Byblos during the Bronze AgesClaude Doumet-SerhalPart IV: Prospering in the shadows31. Byblos: The Transition between the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron AgeMarc Abi Abdallah32. Byblos during the Iron AgeEric Gubel33. The History of the Phoenician Inscriptions in ByblosHelene Sader34. Byblos during the Persian PeriodJosette Elayi35. Byblos during the Hellenistic periodJean-Baptiste Yon36. The Colonnaded Street of Byblos: A Roman Symbol of MonumentalityRola A. Saadi37. Haghia Byblos: Gods and Heroes between Rain, Waves and WaterfallsZeina Fani Alpi38. Byblos and the Tree of the Gods, the CedarAnne-Sophie Dalix39. The Myth of Adonis and Astarte in Byblos and its Hinterland during the Roman PeriodWissam Khalil40. A Roman and Byzantine Necropolis in Byblos (BYB 418)Tania Zaven and Georges Doumet41. Byblos during the Byzantine PeriodFrédéric Alpi42. Ğbayl during the Medieval PeriodHassan el-Akra43. The Fortifications of Medieval Ğbayl/ByblosAnis ChaayaBibliographyByblos has played an extraordinary role in the history of the Mediterranean. From c. 3200 BC, it developed into the preeminent port of the region due to its strategic location at the foot of the cedar forests of Mount Lebanon and its unique connections with the pharaohs of Egypt. An important religious centre, Byblos was referred to as a Holy City in Hellenistic and Roman times. The city is synonymous with writing, a legacy that lives on through the Greek word for book. With a history that reaches back nearly 8500 years, this Lebanese coastal city is among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.Byblos, Gateway to the World is the first scholarly companion to be published on this remarkable city. This lavishly illustrated volume presents the newest archaeological discoveries and a thorough assessment of previous scholarship. Its 43 chapters, written by leading international experts, examine the city’s history from its beginnings through to the Medieval period. These present the current state of scholarship to readers interested in the history of the Mediterranean world, as well as to scholars and students.This book is a coproduction between the National Museum of Antiquities, The Netherlands, and the Ministry of Culture/Directorate General of Antiquities, Lebanon. It is published to accompany a major exhibition in the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities on the city of Byblos.