Material culture and human landscape in Lebanon during the Islamic period: Baalbek and the Beqaa Valley

During the Islamic period, Baalbek was an important urban centre, located on a major road connecting the Northern to the Southern regions of Bilad al-Sham, and situated within the rich and flourishing environment of the Beqaa Valley.1 Besides the focus on the classical past of the city of Baalbek, more recent archaeological studies have been devoted to the history of the site during the Islamic period, focusing on urban development, numismatic evidence, and ceramic assemblage. Moreover, a newly-risen attention to the archaeological landscape of the whole Beqaa Valley seeks to understand the settlement history of the region in a larger chronological perspective. This paper discusses the preliminary picture emerging from the available archaeological documentation and focuses in particular on data from the study of ceramic assemblages found in different areas of the city of Baalbek. It aims to highlight the role of this site in the extremely rich region of the Beqaa Valley during the Islamic period, with a particular focus on the nature of its occupation during the Middle Islamic period (11th-15th century). The paper will present the achieved results of the various field works and reconsider the available literature, but it will also discuss the limits of the archaeological research until now and will address the expected future directions of investigation for a better understanding of the human settlement of this region during the entire Islamic period.