Sarepta (near modern
Sarafand,
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
) was a
Phoenicia
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...
n city on the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
coast between
Sidon and
Tyre, also known biblically as Zarephath. It became a bishopric, which faded, and remains a double (Latin and Maronite) Catholic
titular see.
Most of the objects by which Phoenician culture is characterised are those that have been recovered scattered among Phoenician colonies and trading posts; such carefully excavated colonial sites are in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
,
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
,
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
and
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
. The sites of many Phoenician cities, like Sidon and Tyre, by contrast, are still occupied, unavailable to archaeology except in highly restricted chance sites, usually much disturbed. Sarepta is the exception, the one Phoenician city in the heartland of the culture that has been unearthed and thoroughly studied.
History
Sarepta is mentioned for the first time in the voyage of an Egyptian in the 14th century BCE.
Obadiah
Obadiah (; he, עֹבַדְיָה – ''ʿŌḇaḏyā'' or – ''ʿŌḇaḏyāhū''; "servant of Yah", or "Slave of Yah HVH) is a biblical prophet. The authorship of the Book of Obadiah is traditionally attributed to the prophet ...
says it was the northern boundary of
Canaan
Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...
: “And the exiles of this host of the sons of Israel who are among the Canaanites as far as ''Zarephath'' (Heb. צרפת), and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad, will possess the cities of the south.” The medieval lexicographer, David ben Abraham Al-Alfāsī, identifies ''Zarephath'' with the city of Ṣarfend (Judeo-Arabic: צרפנדה). Originally Sidonian, the town passed to the Tyrians after the invasion of
Shalmaneser IV
Shalmaneser IV ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , meaning "Salmānu is foremost") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 783 BC to his death in 773 BC. Shalmaneser was the son and successor of his predecessor, Adad-nirari III, and ruled during a pe ...
, 722 BCE. It fell to
Sennacherib
Sennacherib ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: or , meaning " Sîn has replaced the brothers") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from the death of his father Sargon II in 705BC to his own death in 681BC. The second king of the Sargonid dynas ...
in 701.
The first
Books of Kings (17:8-24) describes the city as being subject to Sidon in the time of
Ahab
Ahab (; akk, 𒀀𒄩𒀊𒁍 ''Aḫâbbu'' 'a-ḫa-ab-bu'' grc-koi, Ἀχαάβ ''Achaáb''; la, Achab) was the seventh king of Israel, the son and successor of King Omri and the husband of Jezebel of Sidon, according to the Hebrew Bib ...
, and says that the prophet
Elijah
Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My El (deity), God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic language, Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) w ...
, after leaving the brook
Cherith, multiplied the meal and oil of the
widow of Zarephath (Sarepta) and raised her son from the dead there, an incident also referred to by Jesus in
Luke's Gospel
The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-vol ...
.
Zarephath (צרפת ṣārĕfáṯ, tsarfát; Σάρεπτα, Sárepta) in Hebrew became the
eponym
An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Usage of the word
The term ''epon ...
for any
smelter or
forge, or
metalworking
Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on every scal ...
shop. In the 1st century CE, the Roman Sarepta, a port about a kilometer to the south is mentioned by
Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...
and by
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...
.
Sarepta is the location of a Shia shrine to
Abu Dhar al-Ghifari
Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari Al-Kinani (, '), also spelled Abu Tharr or Abu Zar, born Jundab ibn Junādah (), was the fourth or fifth person converting to Islam, and from the Muhajirun. He belonged to the Banu Ghifar, the Kinanah tribe. No date of birt ...
, a Companion of Muhammad. The shrine is believed to have been built at least several centuries after Abu Dhar's death.
After the Islamization of the area, in 1185, the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
Phocas, making a gazetteer of the
Holy Land (''De locis sanctis'', 7), found the town almost in its ancient condition. A century later, according to
Burchard of Mount Sion, it was in ruins and contained only seven or eight houses. Even after the Crusaders' kingdoms had collapsed, the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
continued to appoint purely titular bishops of Sarepta, the most noted being Thomas of Wroclaw who held the post from 1350 until 1378.
Ecclesiastical history
Sarepta as a Christian city was mentioned in the ''
Itinerarium Burdigalense''; the ''Onomasticon'' of
Eusebius
Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Chris ...
and in
Jerome
Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...
; by Theodosius and Pseudo-Antoninus who, in the 6th century call it a small town but very Christian. It contained at that time a church dedicated to St. Elias (Elijah). The ''
Notitia episcopatuum The ''Notitiae Episcopatuum'' (singular: ''Notitia Episcopatuum'') are official documents that furnish Eastern countries the list and hierarchical rank of the metropolitan and suffragan bishoprics of a church.
In the Roman Church (the -mostly Lati ...
'', a list of bishoprics made in Antioch in the 6th century, speaks of Sarepta as a suffragan
see of Tyre
The see of Tyre was one of the most ancient dioceses in Christianity. The existence of a Christian community there already in the time of Saint Paul is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. Seated at Tyre, which was the capital of the Roman provi ...
; all of its bishops are unknown.
Titular sees
The diocese was nominally restored as
titular see, twice: in Latin and Maronite (
Eastern Catholic
The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of ...
) traditions.
Sarepta of the Maronites
This
titular bishopric
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...
was established in 1983.
It has had the following incumbents of the fitting episcopal (lowest) rank:
* Emile Eid (1982.12.20 – death 2009.11.30), in the
Roman Curia : Vice-President of
Pontifical Commission for the Revision of Code of Oriental Canon Law (1982.12.20 – 1990.10.18) and on emeritate; previously
Defender of the Bond
The defender of the bond ( la, defensor vinculi or ''defensor matrimonii'') is a Catholic Church official whose duty is to defend the marriage bond in the procedure prescribed for the hearing of matrimonial causes which involve the validity or ...
of
Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura
The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura () is the highest judicial authority in the Catholic Church (apart from the pope himself, who as supreme ecclesiastical judge is the final point of appeal for any ecclesiastical judgment). In additio ...
(1969? – 1974),
Promoter of Justice of the same Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura (1969 – 1980)
* Hanna G. Alwan,
(L.M.) (2011.08.13 – ...),
Bishop of Curia of the Maronites at the Patriarchate of Antioc; previously
Prelate Auditor of
Tribunal of the Roman Rota (1996.03.04 – 2011.08.13).
Sarepta of the Romans
It was established as titular bishopric no later than the 15th century.
It has been vacant for decades, having had the following incumbents:
* Theodorich, (around 1350), as
Auxiliary Bishop of
Roman Catholic Diocese of Olomouc (
Moravia
Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The m ...
)
*
Jaroslav of Bezmíře, appointed Bishop of Sarepta on 1394.7.15 by
Pope Boniface IX
Pope Boniface IX ( la, Bonifatius IX; it, Bonifacio IX; c. 1350 – 1 October 1404, born Pietro Tomacelli) was head of the Catholic Church from 2 November 1389 to his death in October 1404. He was the second Roman pope of the Western Schism.Rich ...
* Guillaume Vasseur,
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of ...
(O.P.) (1448.10.23 – death 1476?), no actual prelature
* Gilles Barbier,
Friars Minor
The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachi ...
(O.F.M.) (1476.04.03 – death 1494.03.28) as
Auxiliary Bishop of
Diocese of Tournai (
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
) (1476.04.03 – 1494.03.28)
* Nicolas Bureau, O.F.M. (1519.12.02 – death 1551) as Auxiliary Bishop of
Diocese of Tournai (Belgium) (1519.12.02 – 1551)
* Guillaume Hanwere (1552.04.27 – 1560) as Auxiliary Bishop of above Tournai (Belgium) (1552.04.27 – 1560)
* Johannes Kaspar Stredele 'Austrian) (1631.12.15 – death 1642.12.28) as Auxiliary Bishop of
Diocese of Passau
The Diocese of Passau is a Roman Catholic diocese in Germany that is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.[Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...]
, Germany) (1631.12.15 – 1642.12.28)
* Wojciech Ignacy Bardziński (1709.01.28 – death 1722?) as Auxiliary Bishop of
Diocese of Kujawy–Pomorze (Poland) (1709.01.28 – 1722?)
*
Charles-Antoine de la Roche-Aymon (1725.06.11 – 1730.10.02) as Auxiliary Bishop of
Diocese of Limoges
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Limoges (Latin: ''Dioecesis Lemovicensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Limoges'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the '' départments'' of Haute-Vienne and Cr ...
(France) (1725.06.11 – 1730.10.02); later Bishop of
Tarbes
Tarbes (; Gascon: ''Tarba'') is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region of southwestern France. It is the capital of Bigorre and of the Hautes-Pyrénées. It has been a commune since 1790. It was known as ''Turba ...
(France) (
729.12.271730.10.02 – 1740.11.11), Metropolitan Archbishop of
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...
(France) (
740.01.101740.11.11 – 1752.12.18), Metropolitan Archbishop of
Narbonne
Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the ...
(France) (
752.10.021752.12.18 – 1763.01.24), Metropolitan Archbishop of
Reims (France) (
762.12.051763.01.24 – death 1777.10.27), created
Cardinal-Priest
A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...
with no Title assigned (1771.12.16 – 1777.10.27)
* Johann Anton Wallreuther (1731.03.05 – 1734.01.16) as Auxiliary Bishop of
Diocese of Worms (Germany) (1731.03.05 – 1734.01.16)
* Jean de Cairol de Madaillan (1760.01.28 – 1770.01.29) as Auxiliary Bishop of
Archdiocese of Narbonne (France) (1760.01.28 – ?); later Bishop of
Vence (France) (1770.01.29 – 1771.12.16), Bishop of
Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis
, commune status = Prefecture and commune
, image = Panorama grenoble.png
, image size =
, caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
(France) (1771.12.16
772.01.23– 1779.12.10)
* Jean-Denis de Vienne (1775.12.18 – death 1800) as Auxiliary Bishop of
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
(France) (1775.12.18 – 1800)
* Alois Jozef Krakowski von Kolowrat (1800.12.22 – 1815.03.15) as Auxiliary Bishop of
Archdiocese of Olomouc
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Olomouc ( cs, Arcidiecéze olomoucká, la, Archidioecesis Olomucensis) is a metropolitan archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in the Czech Republic. It has its seat in Olomouc.
Special churches
...
(Olomütz,
Moravia
Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The m ...
, now Czech Republic) (1800.12.22 – 1815.03.15), Bishop of
Hradec Králové
Hradec Králové (; german: Königgrätz) is a city of the Czech Republic. It has about 91,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Hradec Králové Region. The historic centre of Hradec Králové is well preserved and is protected by law as an ...
(now Czech Republic) (1815.03.15 – 1831.02.28), Metropolitan Archbishop of
Archdiocese of Praha (Prague,
Bohemia, now Czech Republic) (1831.02.28 – death 1833.03.28)
* Johann Heinrich Milz (1825.12.19 – death 1833.04.29) as Auxiliary Bishop of
Trier
Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...
(Germany) (1825.12.19 – 1833.04.29)
* Johann Stanislaus Kutowski (1836.02.01 – death 1848.12.29) as Auxiliary Bishop of
Diocese of Chełmno (Kulm, Poland) (1836.02.01 – 1848.12.29)
* Franz Xaver Zenner (1851.02.17 – death 1861.10.29) as Auxiliary Bishop of
Archdiocese of Wien
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna ( la, Archidioecesis Viennensis) is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Austria. It was erected as the Diocese of Vienna on 18 January 1469 out of the Diocese of Passau, and elevated to an archdioc ...
(Vienna, Austria) (1851.02.17 – 1861.10.29)
* Nicholas Power (1865.04.30 – death 1871.04.05) as
Coadjutor Bishop of
Killaloe (Ireland) (1865.04.30 – 1871.04.05)
* Jean-François Jamot (1874.02.03 – 1882.07.11) as only
Apostolic Vicar
Apostolic may refer to:
The Apostles
An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission:
*The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles
*Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Chur ...
of
Northern Canada (Canada) (1874.02.03 – 1882.07.11); next (see) promoted first Bishop of
Peterborough
Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
(Canada) (1882.07.11 – death 1886.05.04)
* Antonio Scotti (1882.09.25 – 1886.01.15) as Auxiliary Bishop of
Archdiocese of Benevento
The Italian Catholic metropolitan Archdiocese of Benevento ( la, Archidioecesis Beneventana) has a long history; it now has five suffragan dioceses: the diocese of Ariano Irpino-Lacedonia, the diocese of Avellino, the diocese of Cerreto Sannita- ...
(Italy) (1882.09.25 – 1886.01.15); next Bishop of
Alife (Italy) (1886.01.15 – retired 1898.03.24), emeritate as Titular Bishop of
Tiberiopolis
Tiberiopolis ( grc, Τιβεριούπολις; sometimes in sources, Tiberiapolis, and Pappa-Tiberiopolis; formerly Pappa) was a town in the Roman province of Phrygia Pacatiana, mentioned by Ptolemy, Socrates of Constantinople and Hierocles. At ...
(1898.03.24 – death 1919.06.10)
* Paulus Palásthy (1886.05.04 – death 1899.09.24) as Auxiliary Bishop of
Archdiocese of Esztergom
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
(
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
) (1886.05.04 – 1899.09.24)
* Filippo Genovese (Italian) (1900.12.17 – death 1902.12.16), no actual prelature
* Joseph Müller (1903.04.30 – death 1921.03.21) as Auxiliary Bishop of
Archdiocese of Köln (Cologne, Germany) (1903.04.30 – 1921.03.21)
* Edward Doorly (1923.04.05 – 1926.07.17) as Coadjutor Bishop of
Elphin (Ireland) (1923.04.05 – succession 1926.07.17); next Bishop of Elphin (1926.07.17 – 1950.04.05)
* Petar Dujam Munzani (1926.08.13 – 1933.03.16) as
Apostolic Administrator of
Archdiocese of Zadar (
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
) (1926.08.13 – succession 1933.03.16); later Archbishop of Zadar (
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
) (1933.03.16 – retired 1948.12.11), emeritate as Titular Archbishop of
Tyana
Tyana ( grc, Τύανα), earlier known as Tuwana ( Hieroglyphic Luwian: ; Akkadian: ) and Tuwanuwa ( Hittite: ) was an ancient city in the Anatolian region of Cappadocia, in modern Kemerhisar, Niğde Province, Central Anatolia, Turkey. It w ...
(1948.12.11 – death 1951.01.28)
* François-Louis Auvity (1933.06.02 – 1937.08.14) as Auxiliary Bishop of
Archdiocese of Bourges (France) (1933.06.02 – 1937.08.14); later Bishop of
Mende (France) (1937.08.14 – retired 1945.09.11), emeritate as Titular Bishop of
Dionysiana (1945.09.11 – death 1964.02.15)
* Francesco Canessa (1937.09.04 – 1948.01.14)
*
John Francis Dearden
John Francis Dearden (October 15, 1907 – August 1, 1988) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Detroit from 1958 to 1980, and was created a cardinal in 1969. He previously served as Bishop of Pittsbur ...
(later Cardinal) (1948.03.13 – 1950.12.22)
* Athanasios Cheriyan Polachirakal (1953.12.31 – 1955.01.27)
* Luis Andrade Valderrama,
Friars Minor
The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachi ...
(O.F.M.) (1955.03.09 – 1977.06.29)
Archaeology
A
Heavy Neolithic
Heavy Neolithic (alternatively, Gigantolithic) is a style of large stone and flint tools (or industry) associated primarily with the Qaraoun culture in the Beqaa Valley, Lebanon, dating to the Epipaleolithic or early Pre-Pottery Neolithic at t ...
archaeological site of the
Qaraoun culture
The Qaraoun culture is a culture of the Lebanese Stone Age around Qaraoun in the Beqaa Valley. The Gigantolithic or Heavy Neolithic flint tool industry of this culture was recognized as a particular Neolithic variant of the Lebanese highlands ...
that pre-dated Sarepta by several thousand years was discovered at Sarafand by
Hajji Khalaf. He made a collection of material and passed it to the
National Museum of Beirut
The National Museum of Beirut ( ar, متحف بيروت الوطنيّ, ''Matḥaf Bayrūt al-waṭanī'' or French: Musée national de Beyrouth) is the principal museum of archaeology in Lebanon. The collection begun after World War I, and the m ...
. It consisted of an
assemblage of large flakes and
bifaces in
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...
flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and sta ...
. Some
piebald
A piebald or pied animal is one that has a pattern of unpigmented spots (white) on a pigmented background of hair, feathers or scales. Thus a piebald black and white dog is a black dog with white spots. The animal's skin under the white backgro ...
flint blades were also found along with
hammerstones in
Nummulitic limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
that resemble finds from
Aadloun II (Bezez Cave), which is located to the South. Khalaf also found a well-made
adze
An adze (; alternative spelling: adz) is an ancient and versatile cutting tool similar to an axe but with the cutting edge perpendicular to the handle rather than parallel. Adzes have been used since the Stone Age. They are used for smoothing ...
and a narrow, slightly polished
chisel. A collection in the National Museum of Beirut marked "Jezzine ou Sarepta" consisted of around twelve neatly made
discoid
Discoid may refer to:
* Disk (mathematics), the region in a plane enclosed by a circle
Medicine
* Furosemide, a medication sold under the trade name Discoid
* Discoid meniscus, a human anatomical variant
* Discoid lupus erythematosus, a chroni ...
- and
tortoise
Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like oth ...
-cores in
cherty flint of a cream colour with a tinge of red.
The low
tell on the seashore was excavated by
James B. Pritchard over five years from 1969 to 1974.
Civil war in Lebanon put an end to the excavations.
The site of the ancient town is marked by the
ruins
Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...
on the shore to the south of the modern village, about eight miles to the south of Sidon, which extend along the shore for a mile or more. They are in two distinct groups, one on a headland to the west of a fountain called ‛Ain el-Ḳantara, which is not far from the shore. Here was the ancient harbor which still affords shelter for small craft. The other group of ruins, to the south, consists of
columns
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression membe ...
,
sarcophagi
A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...
and marble slabs, indicating a city of considerable importance.
Pritchard's excavations revealed many artifacts of daily life in the ancient Phoenician city of Sarepta: pottery workshops and
kiln
A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...
s, artifacts of daily use and religious figurines, numerous inscriptions that included some in
Ugaritic
Ugaritic () is an extinct Northwest Semitic language, classified by some as a dialect of the Amorite language and so the only known Amorite dialect preserved in writing. It is known through the Ugaritic texts discovered by French archaeologist ...
.
Pillar worship is traceable from an 8th-century shrine of
Tanit-Ashtart, and a seal with the city's name made the identification secure. The local Bronze Age-Iron Age stratigraphy was established in detail; absolute dating depends in part on correlations with Cypriote and Aegean stratigraphy.
The climax of the Sarepta discoveries at Sarafand is the cult shrine of "
Tanit
Tanit ( Punic: 𐤕𐤍𐤕 ''Tīnīt'') was a Punic goddess. She was the chief deity of Carthage alongside her consort Baal-Hamon.
Tanit is also called Tinnit. The name appears to have originated in Carthage (modern day Tunisia), though it doe ...
/
Astart", who is identified in the site by an inscribed votive ivory plaque, the first identification of Tanit in her homeland. The site revealed figurines, further carved ivories,
amulets and a cultic mask.
Other uses of the name
In
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
after the
Diaspora, the name
צרפת, ts-r-f-t, Tsarfat (Zarephath) is used to mean
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, perhaps because the Hebrew letters ts-r-f, if reversed, become f-r-ts.
This hypothesis is from a French word-building tool called
verlan
() is a type of argot in the French language, featuring inversion of syllables in a word, and is common in slang and youth language. It rests on a long French tradition of transposing syllables of individual words to create slang words. The wor ...
. That usage is retained in daily use in contemporary Israel.
See also
*
Cities of the ancient Near East
The earliest cities in history were in the ancient Near East, an area covering roughly that of the modern Middle East: its history began in the 4th millennium BC and ended, depending on the interpretation of the term, either with the conquest by ...
*
List of Catholic dioceses in Lebanon
References
Sources
* Pritchard, James B. ''Recovering Sarepta, a Phoenician City: Excavations at Sarafund, 1969-1974, University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania '' (Princeton: Princeton University Press) 1978,
*William P. Anderson, Sarepta I: The late bronze and Iron Age strata of area II.Y : the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania excavations at Sarafand, Lebanon (Publications de l'Universite libanaise), Département des publications de l'Universite Libanaise, 1988
*Issam A. Khalifeh, Sarepta II: The Late Bronze and Iron Age Periods of Area Ii.X, University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania, 1988,
*Robert Koehl, Sarepta III: the Imported Bronze & Iron Age, University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania, 1985,
*James B. Pritchard, Sarepta IV: The Objects from Area Ii.X, University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania, 1988,
*Lloyd W. Daly, A Greek-Syllabic Cypriot Inscription from Sarafand, Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, Bd. 40, pp. 223–225, 1980
*
Dimitri Baramki
Dimitri Constantine Baramki, often styled D. C. Baramki (1909, Jerusalem, Sanjak of Jerusalem – 1984, California, U.S.), was a Palestinian archaeologist who served as chief archaeologist at the Department of Antiquities of the Government of Man ...
, A Late Bronze Age tomb at Sarafend, ancient Sarepta, Berytus, vol. 12, pp. 129–42, 1959
*Charles Cutler Torrey, The Exiled God of Sarepta, Berytus, vol. 9, pp. 45–49, 1949
External links
GCatholic - Latin titular see''Catholic Encyclopedia'' Sarepta
{{Authority control
Sidon District
Archaeological sites in Lebanon
Phoenician cities
Phoenician sites in Lebanon
Hebrew Bible cities
Coloniae (Roman)
Populated places in Lebanon
Mediterranean port cities and towns in Lebanon
Populated coastal places in Lebanon
Former populated places in Southwest Asia
Tells (archaeology)