Qalaat Faqra, Roman archaeological site in Mount Lebanon, Lebanon
Qalaat Faqra is an archaeological complex on the slopes of Mount Sannine in Lebanon, consisting of three main areas: a tower, a small temple, and a large sanctuary. The structures are spread across a substantial area and display remains from the Roman and Byzantine periods.
The sanctuary and the Tower of Claudius date to the mid-1st century CE, under Claudius; the tower's Greek and Latin inscriptions record its renovation in 43-44 CE in honour of Adonis. The area lay in the Roman district of Berytus and was probably settled by veterans of the legions Augustus stationed there. In Late Antiquity the shrine of Atargatis was partly dismantled and a Byzantine basilica built beside it.
The site holds two separate temples: the Great Sanctuary, attributed to Heliopolitan Jupiter and dated to the mid-1st century under Claudius, and a smaller temple dedicated to Adonis and Atargatis. The sanctuary of Atargatis was dedicated to Agrippa II and his sister Berenice. In Late Antiquity the shrine was partly dismantled and a Byzantine basilica built beside it.
The site lies at 1,500 m on the slopes of Mount Sannine, near the Faqra ski resort, and is reached from Kfardebian. A 1996 decree by Lebanon's culture minister banned construction around the ruins and folded nearby properties into their protected perimeter. In 2015 the culture ministry and the US embassy in Lebanon cooperated on a restoration campaign that also built an amphitheatre facing the sanctuary columns.
The Tower of Claudius has a 15.67 m square plinth with an external staircase of eighteen steps leading to its main door. Inside, narrow corridors and spiral staircases lead to a small rectangular room at the core. Archaeologists debate whether it was a tomb, a monumental altar, or a watchtower.
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