Queries & Comments

Archaeological Coverage of the War in Lebanon

To the Editor:

I was fascinated by the article on St. Peter’s house in Capernaum (“Has the House Where Jesus Stayed in Capernaum Been Found?” BAR 08:06).

I was also fascinated, and greatly relieved, by your article on Tyre in the same issue (“Antiquities of Tyre Spared Despite PLO Occupation and War in Lebanon,” BAR 08:06) and the minimal damage done to ancient remains in that city by the recent war in Lebanon. As a Latin teacher, in the spring of 1982 when the war broke out, I interrupted my assignment schedule to devote a week to a quick survey of Roman archaeological sites in the path of the war and the possible damage that might result to them. Yours is the first article I have seen devoted to this side-effect of the war. Could you possibly devote another article in the future to the extent of damage to archaeological sites and museums elsewhere in the Lebanon, especially Beirut?