Historical site of Yanouh

The Yanouh historical site is nowadays split between the villages of Mghayré where the main romano-byzantine structures are located and Yanouh. Three main periods covering a timeline of three millennia are represented on the site: the Bronze Age period, the Romano-Byzantine period and the medieval period. The bronze Age period was highlighted by several surveys carried out by the Franco-Lebanese mission between 1995 and 1999 and then by a second mission in 2014-2015. These surveys were mainly carried out in the tell which faces the Roman sanctuary and revealed phases of occupation dating back to the 2nd millennium BC. AD.  The Roman and late antiquity (Byzantine) period is the one which shows the most monumental remains of the site: two Roman temples and a Byzantine basilica as well as a set of artisanal installations. The structures from that period where surveyed by another Franco-Lebanese mission between 1996 and 2004. The medieval period, which essentially corresponds to that of the installation of the Maronite patriarchate on the site over five centuries (≈750-1250 AD), is represented by a panoply of small chapels which surround the ancient site. There are nine chapels currently preserved. Three are located south of the current road (municipality of Yanouh), three to the west of the site, two to its east and one inside the archaeological site (municipality of Mghayré)

• Route : Romano-Byzantine archaeology
• Village : Yanouh