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(95
km from Beirut) - Ancient Remains
Northwest of
Douma
and two kilometers north of Bchealeh village, are extensive remains of a religious or military settlement from the
Romano-Byzantine era. The site may also have been a Canaanite "high place." Situated above the hilltop Maronite monastery of Mar
Yaqoob (St. James), the ruins and the panoramic view are well worth the effort of getting there. The ruin is a jumble of stone blocks, some quarried building stones, others natural. Remains of walls, basins or reservoirs, shaft tombs cut into the rock and other structures can be discerned. The entire site is littered with pottery
sherds. West of these remains is what appears to be a stone of sacrifice. Shaped like a mushroom, it is surrounded by a man-made circular indentation which drains into a deep groove, possibly to receive the blood of a sacrifice.
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Getting
There ...
From Batroun take the main highway
East towards Aabrine, passing through Sourat, Deir ,
Kfar Hilda, Douma until you reach Bchealeh. (See
North Map)
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