The Rediscovery of Amioun, Ancient Ammiya. The Archaeology of a Regional Capital in the Inner Plain of Koura (Lebanon)

In 2017 the joint Italian-Lebanese mission of the Northern Lebanon Project (NoLeP) started a systematic investigation in the district of Koura. The aim of the project is the reconstruction via intensive and extensive survey investigations of the ancient landscape of the region with particular reference to the ancient settlements located in the inner plain. In particular, one of the main initial targets has been the investigation of the ancient city of Ammiya that previous studies identified provisionally as the modern city of Amioun on the basis of textual data. This article provides a detailed account of the results achieved by the joint mission during the survey activity: in particular, it furnishes for the first time a solid archaeological basis in support of a definitive correlation between the modern city of Amioun and ancient Ammiya. Moreover, it provides a first look at the origin, rise and development of the ancient settlement in this site of fundamental importance in the inner area of Koura. This in turn permits us to illuminate the socio-economic dynamics characterising this important region of Northern Lebanon.