Venus towering over Phoenician past

The threat that cultural heritage faces in Beirut as a result of rising land prices and the scarcity of empty plots is a familiar theme. There seems to be no shortage of fresh cases to highlight and local and international media, as well as local NGOs devoted to preserving national heritage, are doing their part to raise the issue. Over the last several weeks, Venus Real Estate has been in the spotlight over the discovery of what local news media has claimed is an ancient Phoenician port on “lot 1398”, an approximately 7,000-square-meter sitewhere the company is preparing to construct a luxurious three-tower high rise complex called Venus Towers.  “I haven’t seen the site; it is closed to the public and even to archaeologists — this is what happens every time there is an important discovery in the Beirut town center,” said Leila Badre, museum director of the Archeological Museum