New lease of life for neglected Beaufort Castle

19 March 2011

ARNOUN: Long-awaited renovations to a castle that was first captured by the Crusaders in 1139 have reached their midway point, with the site expected to be accessible to visitors in August 2012.

Located a kilometer to the southeast of the village of Arnoun in Nabatieh, Beaufort Castle was also considered a strategic site for Mamluks invading from the east, Ottomans from the north, and Israelis from the south.

The castle has suffered from nearly a decade of neglect since Israel’s withdrawal from the south in 2000.

Features of the ancient fortress have already started to emerge, as renovation projects have developed, with engineers and archeologists working to turn the former military asset into a tourist hub.

The fierce battles that were waged by the Ottoman army in the 17th century to defeat Lebanon’s Fakhr al-Din II resulted in the destruction of the upper portions of the castle.

Three centuries later, militants from the Palestinian Liberation Organization held the castle in 1976 as a key strategic position in their fight against Israel. Further destruction ensued as the Israelis invaded Lebanon in 1982, when the castle got caught in the clashes.

The restoration and rehabilitation project for the castle, known in Arabic as al-Shaqif, is funded by the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development, in collaboration with Lebanon’s Ministry of Culture and Council for Reconstruction and Development.

The efforts by the Water and Resources and Development Company, which is in charge of the renovation project, have removed huge amounts of sand and rubble and in the process revealed several arches, used for ventilation and lighting.

Project officials also discovered that the Ministry of Culture’s brochures and maps on Beaufort Castle failed to note the existence of what experts believe are cells used to hold slaves beneath a giant piece of rock at the eastern part of the castle.

On the western side, renovation works uncovered the main gate of the castle, which experts said was severely damaged by Israeli air strikes in 1978.

“More than 30 percent of the clean-up works were completed six months after the start of the project [in October 2010],” said project engineer Ayad Fayyad. According to Fayyad, the engineering regiment of the Lebanese Army cleared out large quantities of ammunition that were also discovered.

“Human bones were also found within the castle, which probably belong to the PLO militants who died in clashes,” he added. – The Daily Star