INTRODUCTION

The following paper narrates the stratigraphic sequence within one room (Room 11) of an Imperial Roman and Byzantine bathing complex (Building 709) partly within the excavation limits of BEY 045, excavated in the Downtown area of central Beirut (Figure 1). It then goes on to explain the structure used used to interpret the room, and how, in their strictest sense, the Laws of Archaeological Stratigraphy (Harris 1979, 1989) and the archaeologists that apply them are challenged by sites that exist as partially extant, though essentially buried, ruins within an archaeological excavation. The final sections of the paper concern issues of archaeological methodology and the recognition of site complexity, concluding that traditional methodologies, as practised in the archaeology of the Middle East, and more recent thinking on archaeological method, as expounded by Hodder 1997, fail to address deposit complexity adequately.

SITE LOCATION, NATURAL AND URBAN TOPOGRAPHY

The baths of BEY 045 lay in the eastern lee of a high peninsula of ground stretching from the Grand Serail (CDR) in the south to the Majidiyeh Mosque in the north. Previous archaeological work has suggested that the site (Figure 2), which contained part of a large bathing complex, was built on or around the forum of Roman Berytus (Beirut) and was flanked to the South by a civilian basilica. Recent excavations have shown that it is likely this basilical structure was associated with the baths of BEY 045 either as a Kaisersaal [2] or palaestra [3] and was not in fact the civilian basilica of Berytus (Thorpe, in press).

The pediment of a large public building, most probably a temple (Lauffray 1945, Maquis and Tarrazi 1996) and remnants of colonnades were found in the area to the south of the baths. Excavations to the north in the area of the former Souks (markets) revealed a large domus [4] of the peristyle/atrium type (Perring, et al. 1996), as well as other residential and artisanal structures. A series of numbered shops to the north of what was probably a colonnaded plateia (square) (Butcher and Thorpe 1997) or street (Williams, et al. 1995) have also been excavated to the northwest of BEY 045. It is unlikely, however, that this street or square is the decumanus maximus [5] of Roman Berytus, which Lauffray (1945) suggested lay beneath Rue Weygand. The domus to the north of the baths, as well as the portico and associated shops, were extant and in use during the fourth and fifth centuries AD, a time when the baths of BEY 045 were at their most grandiose.

Despite the identification of such a large public building, its exact limits are unknown. The western extent of the bathing complex is thought to lie under the Munzer Mosque, an historic building dating to the seventeenth century. It is certain, however, that the baths extend beneath the Omari (or Great) Mosque to the east, though how far is a matter of some conjecture. Predictive models of the street layout of Roman Beirut are still unreliable, and the uncertainties regarding the full extent of the baths of BEY 045 reflect similar uncertainties about what is emerging as a complex and dynamic urban plan.

The natural relief below the baths is easier to elucidate. The relief of the site slopes from a high point of 7.00m OD (ordnance datum) in the west to 4.5m OD in the east. A break of slope to the north-east leads down to the sea and is somewhat accentuated by what was either a natural wadi (gully) or an earlier city ditch (author's own observation). Such a commanding position, at a high point of the city, must have been dramatically reinforced by the high ground 200 metres to the southwest, where the land rises steeply to 50 metres OD.

PREPARING THE GROUND: THE IMPERIAL THERMAE OF BEY 045

The building sequence on BEY 045 consists of a series of superimposed discrete and temporally separate events. The palimpsest of occupation, renovation, re-building, and re-use was evident both in superimposed deposits and in the walls which apparently had been re-built at various times. Building 709 (Figure 3) was established as a bath during the early first century AD. The early second century saw the baths undergo a major phase of re-building as a large central drain was inserted along the north-south axis of the structure. The form of the building and its axial symmetry were then altered to resemble those of the imperial thermae of Rome.

The third century saw a Severan embellishment of the baths. The drains were modified and renovated, and a long series of cisterns was added to the east, possibly replacing an earlier and smaller cistern. The hypocaust [6] of each room was also refurbished and flue systems were consolidated or re-built. The late fourth and early fifth centuries also saw an attempt to upgrade the baths. Two rooms (5 and 11) were inserted into the demolished remnants of a former drain. The base of each room was paved with tiles stamped INIMAS or INIBAGA (transliterated from Greek; Figures 4 and 5). These indiction stamps have been dated to AD 423 or 431 -- during the reigns of Honorius and Valentinian III in the west and Theodosius II in the east -- and have been sourced to either Constantinople or Antioch (Hayes, pers. comm.). It is likely that the renovation of these rooms in this period formed an Imperial commission built and paid for at imperial or civic expense.

Rooms 5 and 11 were special additions to the baths and served to reorient and establish a fluidity in the architectural symmetry of the building (Figure 6) that had been lacking before the second century AD. It was the establishment of this symmetry that broke up the regular 'row type' [7] linear progression of earlier phases through the building to the caldarium (hot room) [8]. Instead, this symmetry established and accentuated the independently operating halves of the baths. It created a more complex bathing sequence that could be enjoyed and tailored by selecting or omitting different gradations of heated room from the comfort of the tepidarium (warm room) [9] before progressing to the caldarium. As such, this division of space may represent some increase in status as well as the complexity of bathing offered, possibly reflecting the growth in affluence and security among Beirut's inhabitants. This security and status, or their perception at least, were further reinforced during the third century and again in the early fifth century with the refurbishing of the baths under Imperial patronage, there is also evidence of a later refurbishment under the Emperor Justinian (AD 527-565). The inclusion of the stamped tiles in the fifth-century refurbishment made an overt political statement regarding the stability of the East and the continuation of an essentially Hellenised version of empire, while the Empire of the West suffered the turmoil and insecurity of economic and military failure.

The longevity of the building is well established, and Room 11 in particular was used for a substantial period of time. During its lifetime, Room 11 was repaired and renovated repeatedly. The hot pool built within it was built over the unconsolidated fill of an earlier drain, a fact which is surprising given the usual solidity of Roman construction, especially in public buildings. Subsequent drying and shrinkage of this unconsolidated material resulted in the slumping and collapse of the floor of the pool above. Several attempts to repair the pool were made and concrete was poured into the hypocaust to buttress failing pilae [10]. Battles in the protracted war against collapse and structural failure were fought and lost no less than nine times, before the final stages of the room's life during the ninth century.

SITE RECORDING SYSTEM AND PHASING STRUCTURE

The site was excavated and recorded using the single-context recording system, within a five-metre grid outlined in Spence (1990, 1993). The record sheets were adapted from those used by the Museum of London Archaeology Service (MoLAS). Only direct stratigraphic contacts were recorded onto the context sheet in the 'relationships field', while physical relationships were annotated where the excavator felt necessary. The site-wide sequence was compiled from and validated against the plans and context records during the excavation, and checking of the sequence was completed as soon after the excavation as funding allowed.

The structure adopted to group and phase the context records has been outlined elsewhere (Shepherd 1992; Thorpe 1995; Thorpe and Williams, in press; Williams 1987; Williams and Pearson 1992). The system used in Beirut differs from that used in London and York, and by other urban units, only insofar as sub-group [11] and group [12] numbers derive from a continual sequence rather than the sub-group being a numerical subdivision of the group number. This approach to phasing is based on the hierarchical grouping of physically superimposed episodes of deposition or truncation, which is in turn based on processual association by direct stratigraphic link. Associated contexts are grouped into activities based on the definition of events of construction, use and disuse. These sub-groups then form the basis for higher units of interpretative association (groups), which encompass inferred temporal-spatial relationships between archaeological entities not directly linked by a stratigraphic chain and define buildings, open areas, roads, and so forth. Post-depositional processes of context transformation or horizontal truncation are shown on the sub-group matrix with a red dash-double dot line (Figure 7), demonstrating activity that is inferred by the archaeological record but which has no physical form per se. This enables an interpretative understanding of the site sequence to be demonstrated graphically without enshrining a single scheme of perception within the primary context record of the site. By using keywords to express processual interpretation at sub-group level, the sub-group matrix may equate to Adams's (1991, 1992) traits or attributes matrices.

Figure 7 is the stratigraphic matrix of sub-groups from Room 11 drawn in Microsoft Excel®. It is part of the wider grouped and phased site matrix and is related to the site archive and phase plans generated and manipulated in G-SYS [13]. I have highlighted in red where lines on the matrix cross rather than using bridges over crossing strands. A red crossing line means that the sub-groups in the cross have no relationship to one another. Room and phase numbers are in green. The sub-groups of each phase are within corresponding dashed green boxes. Letters in blue denote use, construction, demolition/re-working or transformation.

THE STRUCTURAL SEQUENCE OF ROOM 11: STRATIGRAPHIC COMPLEXITY OVERESTIMATED?

The archaeological deposits in Room 11 were some of the best preserved within the baths of BEY 045. Deep truncation at the north and south ends of the room, as well as in its centre, gave the excavators a sneak preview of the sequence (Figure 8). The quality of preservation within the room, its assumed stratigraphic simplicity, and the ability to predict and quantify the sequence by means of the truncations implied that we were dealing with a sequence complicated only by the time in which we had to excavate it. Needless to say, our initial appraisal was incorrect. At an early stage, during site cleaning, the room appeared to have been relatively short-lived, and episodes of minor remodelling which had taken place on subsequent occasions could be seen in section. However, the room had eventually collapsed, possibly during the earthquake which devastated Beirut in AD 551. This classic case of over-interpretation at first sight perfectly demonstrates what is common on sites containing both upstanding and buried remains. The bigger picture seems at first so much clearer than on many British urban sites for example. The apparent linear simplicity of the sequence and the ease with which it can be read seem almost to negate the need for the rigour of strict stratigraphic recording and single-context planning. However, it is sites of this kind that validate, precisely because of the quality of their preservation, the adage, 'the closer you look at stratification, the more complex it becomes. Infinitely'. (Adams 1992: 13).