An archeological site from 2000 BCE was accidentally unearthed in Wadi Khaled, Lebanon. The discovery was made by workers installing a water pipeline in Rajm last week after accidentally digging through a tomb believed to date back to the Bronze Age. Notified about the finding by local authorities, the government office dispatched archeologist Samar Karam to inspect the site.
      Karam ordered the site closed and asked that digging on the pipeline be diverted; the new site will be monitored by local police.
      The agency's acting director-general, Asaad Saif, said the Directorate-General of Antiquities was now carrying out a survey on all antiquities and archeological sites in Lebanon. The results will be published by the government agency when the studies are completed. "The publication will be issued after the survey and will serve as an archeological map of Lebanon," he said.
      The project is the first of its kind in Lebanon. Saif said the study would permit archeologists responsible for managing their heritage to do precise work with spot excavations, hopefully shedding light on different historical periods in Lebanon.

Source: The Daily Star (27 september 99)