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The sanctuary of Yanouh is a historic temple complex in the village of Yanouh, situated in the hinterland of Byblos in Lebanon. It was excavated during [xx]
Discover Lebanon Yanouh is a village and municipality in the Byblos District of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate, Lebanon. It is located 94 kilometers north of Beirut and has an average elevation of 1,120 meters above sea level. Yanouh has a long and rich history that spans from the Bronze Age to the Middle Ages. It was once a Phoenician center and a religious site for various cults and deities. It is known for its archaeological remains, including a Roman temple, a Byzantine basilica, a medieval chapel, and an Aramaic inscription.
The earliest evidence of human occupation in Yanouh dates back to the third millennium BCE, when a fortified town was built on a hill called Tell el Kharayeb ("Hill of Ruins"). The town was surrounded by a defensive wall and had a lower urban quarter extending towards the south. Several underground tombs with hewn stone blocks were also found near the hill.
From the 12th to the 4th century BCE, Yanouh witnessed significant agricultural and domestic development, as attested by pottery, coins, and other artifacts found on site. The most notable discovery from this period is an Aramaic inscription that mentions a "House of God" and is dated to around 110-109 BCE. This inscription is the earliest known Aramaic writing to be found on Lebanese soil and suggests that Yanouh was a sacred place for a local cult.
In the Roman period, Yanouh became an important religious site for the worship of Diana, the goddess of the hunt and daughter of Jupiter. A large temple dedicated to her was built in the northern part of the site in the second century CE. The temple was made of blue limestone blocks and had a rectangular cella with a pronaos and a portico. It was flanked by two annexes that served as sacristies or storerooms. A smaller temple was also built in the southern part of the site, forming a southern sanctuary with an earlier Hellenistic cult building.
In the Byzantine period, Yanouh became a Christian center and saw the construction of several churches and chapels. The most prominent one was a basilica with columns that was built in the fifth century CE in the south of the site. The basilica had a nave with two aisles, an apse, and a narthex. It was later replaced by a basilica with pillars that underwent several transformations until the 12th century CE.
In the Middle Ages, Yanouh was the seat of the Maronite patriarchate from 750 to 1277 CE. The Roman temple of Diana was converted into a church dedicated to Saint George, who was also known as Saint George the Blue because of the color of the temple stones. The church had three naves with two rows of columns and an apse. It was decorated with frescoes and inscriptions. Another church was built in the north of the site, along with several chapels in the vicinity.
Nordiguian Lévon. Le sanctuaire de Mar Girios al-Azraq à Yanouh : notes préliminaires. In: Topoi, volume 9/2, 1999. pp. 579- https://www.persee.fr/doc/topoi_1161-9473_1999_num_9_2_1852
LA VIE RELIGIEUSE AU LIBAN SOUS L'EMPIRE ROMAIN | Julien Aliquot 2012
https://books.openedition.org/ifpo/1451 Aliquot https://web.archive.org/web/20230430204247/https://books.openedition.org/ifpo/1451
Le petit temple romain du sanctuaire de Yanouh [article] 2009
sem-linkGérard Charpentierhttps://www.persee.fr/doc/topoi_1161-9473_2009_num_16_1_2296?q=YAnouh Amazing https://web.archive.org/web/20230923081745/https://www.persee.fr/doc/topoi_1161-9473_2009_num_16_1_2296?q=YAnouh
Title: The Small Roman Temple at the Sanctuary of Yanouh (2009) p. 107-119
Römische Tempel in Syrien (Denkmäler antiker Architectur 1938 https://books.google.nl/books?id=DR1IAQAAIAAJ
The sanctuary of Yanuh is an ancient place of worship