On 20th September in the French Institute in Beirut (IFPO) archaeologists from the UW participated in the conference and the exhibition on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of their research in Lebanon.

Archaeologists from the University of Warsaw have been invited to Lebanon in order to share the results of their work in word and image. “People, places, monuments. 20 years of Polish-Lebanese cooperation in archaeology and conservation (1996-2016) is the title of an exhibition and a conference.

The exhibition will highlight some aspects of the research conducted by the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology (PCMA) of the University of Warsaw. The opening will be accompanied by a scientific conference presenting an overview of the mission’s archaeological and conservation work. The events are co-organized by the PCMA, the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Beirut and the IFPO.

The exhibition, of 18 trilingual plates (in Arabic, French and English), will be presented from 20th September till 3rd October.

Each season, starting with 1996, at Chhim and Jiyeh (Porphyreon), south of Beirut, in southern Phoenicia, a team of archaeologists and students from the University of Warsaw, directed by Prof. Tomasz Waliszewski, has been exploring the secrets of the life of ancient inhabitants of these two ancient villages that prospered in the Hellenistic, Roman and late Antique periods.

During the 19 seasons of work, the two sites hosted 169 archaeologists and students from six countries, including Poland, Lebanon and France, with University of Warsaw affiliates being the most numerous group. The team conducted archaeological and conservation work on 10 sites, making discoveries in two villages with well-preserved domestic buildings, a Roman temple, two early Byzantine churches with mosaic decoration and five olive oil presses, informing on the methods of production of this essential component of ancient diet. Conservators from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, working with the mission, preserved and restored hundreds of square meters of mosaics and wall paintings.