The
site of Umm al Awamid was first excavated in the 19th century
by Ermest Renan and in 1943 and 1945 excavations resumed under
the direction of Maurice Dunand. In spite of the fact that the
Egyptian texts of Ramses II mention a mountain pass in this
area, the site did not yield any remains that can be dated
earlier than the 5th century B.C., except for two Neolithic
sickle blades and a limited number of 8th century B.C. pottery
sherds. The site witnessed an era of prosperity in the
3rd and 2nd centuries B.C., when it became an important
religious center in the Tyrian countryside. After the first
century B.C. the site was neglected, but it recovered some of
its importance in the Byzantine period: the main Hellenistic
temple was transformed into a church and a village developed
around it.
The most impressive remains from Umm al
Awamid are those of the Hellenistic period. Maurice Dunand
excavated there two temples and a series of buildings dating
to the third and second centuries B.C. The western temple
(56 m x 60m) was dedicated to the god Milkashtart. Inside a
sacred enclosure is an open courtyard in the center of which
stands a cella. The temple was built on a podium and the cella
was surrounded by a portico and rooms. the eastern temple is
very similar to the western one (60m x 35m) in its overall
plan: it was also built on a podium and it has a cella erected
in the middle of an open courtyard and surrounded by a
portico and rooms.
The most significant finds from Umm an Awamid are the stone
statues and stelae. Some of them were looted and sold on the
antiquities market beforee and after the regular excavations
on the site. One of these stolen stelae is now in the Museum
of Copenhagen and represents the priest Baalyaton. Another one
representing the priest Baalshamar is in the Beirut National
Museum and a third is in the Louvre.
The Umm al Awamid temples show different
cultural influences. From Greek tradition, the temples
borrowed their Doric columns and from Egyptian tradition, the
cornice on top of their outer walls. In spite of these
influences, the religious complex of Umm al Awamid is clearly
in the tradition of local Canaanite religious buildings. |