A monograph on the wall paintings from late antique Porphyreon (today’s Jiyeh) in Lebanon by Julia M. Burdajewicz has been released in open access. The book was published by Peeters Publishers in the series “Polish Publications in Mediterranean Archaeology”.
In 1975, a bulldozer working on a beach in southern Lebanon unearthed dressed stones with wall paintings, leading to the excavation of a Late Antique settlement, identified as ancient Porphyreon. Nearly 300 fragments of wall paintings depicting jeweled crosses, figures, animals, and Greek inscriptions were found in a residential area and a basilical church. However, due to their fragmented state of preservation, the significance of these paintings remained overlooked for decades.
This book presents a thorough study of the Porphyreon wall paintings, conducted from 2014 to 2019 carried out in 2014–2019 in the framework of the joint archaeological expedition of the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology (PCMA) of the University of Warsaw and the Lebanese Directorate General of Antiquities (DGA). It delves into various aspects including iconography, architectural contexts, style, dating, execution techniques, and conservation efforts. The findings contribute significantly to the study of Late Antique wall paintings in the Eastern Mediterranean, shedding light on their particular role as descendants of Roman painting and forerunners of Byzantine art.
Julia M. Burdajewicz holds an MA in conservation and restoration of works of art and a PhD in archaeology. Her research focuses on the iconography, semantics, and materiality of monumental art: wall paintings, floor and wall mosaics, in particular from the Hellenistic period through Late Antiquity. She is an assistant professor of Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and a guest lecturer at the Faculty of Archaeology, University of Warsaw.
Julia M. Burdajewicz, Late Antique Wall Paintings from Porphyreon in the Sidon Hinterland (=Polish Publications in Mediterranean Archaeology 7). Peeters Publishers
The publication is available in Open Access (PDF)
Polish Publications in Mediterranean Archaeology is a PCMA UW book series published by Peeters Publishers.
The publication of this monograph was co-financed from the “Excellent Science” program of the Ministry of Education and Science, Republic of Poland.
- See other PCMA UW publications available online
- Read more about PCMA UW excavations in Jiyeh / Porphyreon