page_title: Temple of Eshmun
section_title: Modern discovery
hierarchical_section_title: Temple of Eshmun / History / Modern discovery
caption_attribution_description: English: Phoenician inscriptions found on the Eshmun temple's Podium, it is attirbuted to king Bodashtart Licensing This is a faithful digital reproduction of an original two-dimensional work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain for the following reason:
context_page_description: The Temple of Eshmun is an ancient place of worship dedicated to Eshmun, the Phoenician god of healing. It is located near the Awali river, 2 kilometres northeast of Sidon in southwestern Lebanon. The site was occupied from the 7th century BC to the 8th century AD, suggesting an integrated relationship with the nearby city of Sidon. Although originally constructed by Sidonian king Eshmunazar II in the Achaemenid era to celebrate the city's recovered wealth and stature, the temple complex was greatly expanded by Bodashtart, Yatan-milk and later monarchs. Because the continued expansion spanned many centuries of alternating independence and foreign hegemony, the sanctuary features a wealth of different architectural and decorative styles and influences.
  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.
context_section_description: Between 1737 and 1742, Richard Pococke, an English anthropologist, toured the Middle East and wrote of what he thought were ruins of defensive walls built with 3.7-metre (12 ft) stone blocks near the Awali river. When the French orientalist Ernest Renan visited the area in 1860, he noticed that the Awali bridge abutments were built of finely rusticated blocks that originated from an earlier structure. He also noted in his report, Mission de Phénicie, that a local treasure hunter told him of a large edifice near the Awali bridge.
  In 1900, local clandestine treasure hunters digging at the Eshmun Temple site haphazardly discovered inscriptions carved onto the temple's walls. This discovery stirred the interest of Theodore Macridy, curator of the Museum of Constantinople, who cleared the temple remains between 1901 and 1903. Wilhelm Von Landau also excavated the site between 1903 and 1904. In 1920, Gaston Contenau headed a team of archaeologists who surveyed the temple complex. The first extensive archaeological excavation revealing the Eshmun Temple remains was undertaken by Maurice Dunand between 1963 and 1975. Archaeological evidence shows that the site was occupied from the seventh century BC to the eighth century AD.
caption: Phoenician inscription of King Bodashtart found on the Eshmun Temple's podium. Bustan el-Sheikh, Sidon, 6th century BC.[21]
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