Exhibition Byblos's world's oldest port city

Leiden, 28-10-2022

Today we have the exhibition Byblos – Visiting the World's Oldest Port City in the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden.

We thought it was a nicely set up exhibition and definitely worth a visit. That is still possible until 12 March 2023 see the website for the possibilities.
With beautiful displays and a clear explanation thanks to the audio tour that was also completely free.

You get a clear picture of the rise 5,000 years ago of the port city of byblos, and why it was the purveyor to the pharaohs for millennia.

And the most important trading hub of the Mediterranean, mainly due to the trade in cedar trees from the mountains behind.
They were famous for their straight trunks that could grow up to forty meters high.
Other precious materials from all over the Mediterranean, such as silver, wine, oil and lapis lazuli, also found their way to Egypt from Byblos. Byblos received gems, gold, linen and elephant ivory in return, which in turn was traded with cities in Mesopotamia, among others.

Good administration was indispensable in trade on such a large scale.
No wonder that in Byblos the forerunner of the Latin alphabet emerged.

The ancient port city takes shape in large projected 3D reconstructions and drone shots of the excavated ruins, supplemented by historical photos of the first excavations from the beginning of the last century. Today, the grounds of the ancient city are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where archaeological research is still being done. Unique is that finds from a very recent excavation (2019) can already be seen in Leiden, with spectacular images of the excavation site.