Professor Aubet is the Head of the Archaeology Laboratory at the Humanities Department at UPF, and is the principal investigator of the "Necropolis of Al-Tir- Bass" project, which was carried out in the Lebanese city of Tyre from 1997 to 2009, and is restarting in May. 

- The economic crisis stopped the excavation in 2009. What has made it possible to resume the excavation work after so many years?

The restart of the excavations in Tyre in 2014 has been welcomed with enthusiasm by the authorities of the Lebanese Ministry of Culture, due to the difficult period the country is experiencing as a result of the war in neighboring Syria. In fact, the UPF team is the only group of foreign archaeologists returning to Lebanon right now, and probably for this reason they have offered us a long-term excavation project for the city's acropolis, which was sought by  Belgian, French and German researchers. The technical halt over these past three years, which was driven by our Ministry of Finance, despite the willingness of the Institute of Cultural Heritage in Madrid, has helped us to prepare our final results for publication calmly but with some frustration.

"they have offered us a long-term excavation project for the city's acropolis, which was sought by Belgian, French and German researchers"

- What has been the most important discovery at the site so far?

Our most important archaeological finding in the excavations of the ancient city of Tyre was the city's main cemetery, dating back to when the monarchy was at its height, when Tyre was founding colonies in the West, such as Carthage and Cadiz. In our archaeology, while studying a necropolis and the contents of graves and grave goods, so far we have identified nearly 300 graves from the 9th-7th centuries BC, giving us information about important aspects of the population's ideology, their funeral rites and beliefs about death, and their demographics.

- Will the new excavation mean new goals? What are you aiming for in this new phase?

In this new excavations planned for the months of May and June, we aim to complete the excavation of a large area of the necropolis of Tyre, which will expose the largest Phoenician necropolis known in the Middle East.

"We aim to complete the excavation of a large area of the necropolis of Tyre, which will expose the largest Phoenician necropolis known in the Middle East"

- How will you do the day-to-day fieldwork at the site, given the geopolitical situation of the region where it is located?

Contrary to recent experience, the political situation in the region of Tyre is fairly calm. Ever since the first excavations, which began in 1997, our fieldwork has always been dependent on the endemic conflict with neighboring Israel. Tyre is about 15 km from the Israeli border and we have witnessed serious border incidents, although we could always count on the support of the Lebanese people and the Embassy of Spain. Now the tension has moved northwards to the border with Syria and the Bekaa valley, so that the region of Tyre is surprisingly something such an oasis of peace. For now...

"For the team of archaeologists and students who have joined us it is a unique training and fieldwork experience for completing their doctoral theses in more depth"

- In terms of research and teaching, what is the impact of these excavations on the Archaeology Laboratory of the Humanities Department?

For the team of archaeologists who have joined us, which mainly consists of technical specialists from the Archaeology Laboratory (Laura Trellisó, Francisco Núñez, Ida Oggiano and Antonio Esteban) , and in particular Fellows and former Fellows of UPF and Lebanese students (Vyron Antoniadis, Amelie Beyhum, Mohamed el-Fhasani, Michal Krueger, Josep Gari Lopez, Isabel Muntalt and Barbara Mura), it is a unique training and fieldwork experience for completing their doctoral theses in more depth. They are all working on issues directly or indirectly related to the field of overseas expansion of Tyre.

Related information: