Terracotta oil lamps from the excavation at the Bey 004 site (Beirut, Lebanon)

The excavation of site Bey 004 in the urban center of Beirut was done as part of a major salvage-archaeology operation in the 1990s, in preparation for the redevelopment of the city after the Lebanese Civil War. War destruction had given archaeologists the opportunity to investigate the topography, history and everyday life of Beirut over the millennia since its establishment and before a new city would be built on top of the ruins in the 21st century. Terracotta oil lamps, like tableware, are a sensitive guide to the passage of time and cultures, spanning the ages the 5th century BC through the 9th century AD, from Persia to Islam. The article reviews the assemblage from the Bey 004 site, broken down by a local site typology that reflects major periods of occupation, and relates it to existing typologies of ancient Near Eastern lamps from the Canaanite to the Islamic.