The Northern Levant at the End of the Early Bronze Age: The Evidence from Sidon

Sidon, 25 km south of the Lebanese capital Beirut, was from the earliest times an important city-state in the ancient Levant. Because the ancient site is densely built up, it has until now never been systematically excavated. In 1967 the Directorate General of Antiquities of Lebanon acquired three parcels of land in the centre of the city with a total area of 30,000 square metres. Apart from a few soundings undertaken in 1914 and 1920, these parcels of land remained unexcavated until 1998 when the Directorate General authorised the British Museum to undertake research in the city. The excavations are being sponsored by the British Museum, the British Academy, the Council for British Research in the Levant (2002–03), as well as by private Lebanese organisations.