Hebbariyye Roman Temple

This was an especially cool job. I was hired by a couple who worked for Historic Lebanon in Beirut. My job was to reconstruct this temple which is located near the village of Hebbariyye in the south eastern edge of Lebanon close to the border with occupied Palestine.

The Temple of Hebbariyye is 1800 to 1700 years old. It is believed that this temple was an important element in the chain linking other Roman temples together on the pilgrimage road to Mount Hermon.

The temple was first excavated in 1904 by a team of German archeologists, but was referenced by other explorers, the earliest account dates to 1822. I was sent transcripts of original field notes, on-site renderings of the ruins and a diagram of the different parts of a typical Roman temple so my clients and I could clearly communicate regarding the various elements. I had to ‘build’ the temple from the ground up. Every other week I would receive photos of new courses of stonework and photos I requested for further clarification. They sent photos of the surrounding countryside plus historical accounts of the landscape.

It was a several month process to complete the drawing. In the end all three of us were quite pleased.