WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW SOMETHING — DON’T EVEN KNOW what you don’t know — it’s a good idea to go to the experts. In the case of Lebanon, that would be the National Museum of Beirut. Lebanon and its neighbors in the Fertile Crescent — the Cradle of Civilization — have given the world the wheel, farming, writing and even the “invention” of time itself.
Connie contemplating the past
The treasures in the museum are twice preserved, first from Antiquity and more recently during the 15-year Civil War when the building was repeatedly shelled. In an act of genius seldom seen, the artifacts were boxed and stored safely in the basement. Those, like sarcohpagi and mosaics, were encased in concrete and left in place. Not everything survived but those pieces, some one-of a kind, that did are in pristine condition.
Hygeia, Goddess of Health
