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(107 km from Beirut) - Archaeological
Tell
Arqa
is an archaeological tell which goes back to the Neolithic Period. To reach
the site one must go through the modern village and take the road that
passes over a single arched bridge.
The ancient town of Arqa played an important role in the area's
history, and its name appears many times in the Bible, in Egyptian texts of
the second millennium B.C., and in Assyrian texts of the 1st millennium B.C.
In Roman times it was called Caesarea of Lebanon, and the Roman Emperor
Alexander Severus (222-235 A.D.) was born there. In 1108 the Crusaders took
control of the strategic castle from the Banu Ammar, but the Mamluke Sultan
Baibars captured it in 1266.
Archaeological surveys and excavations begun in the 1970's have revealed
numerous important structures representing almost every occupation level of
the site from the Early Bronze Age to the Mamluke period.
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