Wikipedia:Today's featured article/January 27, 2011

The Temple of Eshmun is an ancient place of worship dedicated to Eshmun, the Phoenician god of healing. Located near the Awali river, 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) northeast of Sidon in southwestern Lebanon, the site was occupied from the 7th century BCE to the 8th century CE. Originally constructed by Sidonian king Eshmunazar II in the Achaemenid era (c. 529–333 BCE) to celebrate the city's recovered wealth and stature, the temple complex was greatly expanded by Bodashtart, Yatan-milk and later monarchs. The sanctuary consists of an esplanade and a grand court limited by a huge limestone terrace wall that supports a monumental podium which was once topped by Eshmun's Graeco-Persian style marble temple. The Eshmun Temple declined and fell into oblivion as paganism was replaced by Christianity and its large limestone blocks were used to build later structures. The temple site was rediscovered in 1900 by local treasure hunters who stirred the curiosity of international scholars. Maurice Dunand, a French archaeologist, thoroughly excavated the site from 1963 until the beginning of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975. After the end of the hostilities and the retreat of Israel from Southern Lebanon, the site was rehabilitated and inscribed to the World Heritage Site tentative list. (more...)

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