by devdiscourse.com — Lebanon launched the Beirut Historical Museum project on Thursday, which will include archaeological artifacts unearthed during excavations conducted between 1993 and 1997 under the auspices of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The museum will also feature a host of civilizations that have passed through Beirut since the Bronze Age, Canaanite, Ottoman and Modern. The archaeological museum covers an area of 12,000 square meters from the Martyrs Square and the archaeological hill in central Beirut to the beach, including what will be known as the 5-kilometer “Path of History” inside and outside a glass building. The museum is scheduled to take three years to build a glass building inside the museum and an exhibition of artifacts sorted from various locations in Beirut in cooperation with the work teams at the Directorate of Antiquities.

The museum will consist of seven floors, the lower ones will be stone only, and the floors that rise above the road are glass, to become the pedestrian area only without cars. Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri launched the project on Thursday in the presence of Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury, Speaker of the Council for Development and Reconstruction Nabil Al-Jisr and Kuwaiti Ambassador to Beirut Abdel-Al Al-Qenaie. Hariri said the museum is a joint effort between the Beirut Municipality, Solidere and the Lebanese Council for Development and Reconstruction, funded by the Kuwait Fund for Economic Development. He added that the project is designed by Renzo Piano, named after its famous Italian architect. “As we build a modern city and a seafront, we are also interested in preserving the heritage of this city because preserving identity and history is a solid foundation for building the future,” Hariri said. Archaeological excavations in central Beirut often showed the diversity of civilizations that passed through the city. Over the years, workers and experts from the interior of Beirut, under the sun and rain, have been working hard to find archaeological artifacts ranging from Phoenician, Hellenic, Roman, Arab and Ottoman. “Today, an important cultural symbol is being developed with the close cooperation of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development and the objective of Nabil Sam, in support of scientific observatories, strengthening the research culture, highlighting the human potentials and pushing the development axes into such a vital project in the heart of the vibrant city of Beirut,” he said. During the ceremony, Lebanese Minister of Culture Ghattas Khoury unveiled ambitious plans for the development of downtown Beirut and the addition of more museums throughout Lebanon over the next few years. “This site will tell the history of Beirut over time and establish a museum that is as valuable as Beirut,” Khoury said. “The museum will not be the one that is in question, but the whole area will be developed from Martyrs Square to the archaeological hill. “There are plans to develop and establish museums in all Lebanese regions, especially in Beirut, according to a five-year plan funded by the Cedar 1 program to support Lebanon with the value of USD 280 million.” (With inputs from Reuters)