CIPA 2003 XIX th International Symposium, 30 September-04 October, 2003, Antalya, Turkey 
many specialists and is headed by Jean Yasmine, a consultant at 
the Directorate General of Antiquities (DGA). This team is 
responsible of the establishment of tender documents for 
contractors. There are many works on this important monument 
(dimensions of the castle: 75m x 150m; height. 30m; 
dimensions of the surroundings: 200m x 500m). There is 
archaeological excavation. There is consolidation and 
restoration of structures and surfaces. There are also cultural 
and touristic equipment in the scope of works. The present 
paper deals with the problems of the surroundings. 
Figure 1. Aerial view of the Beaufort castle (Nikon F3, 2003) 
2. HISTORIC OVERVIEW OF THE CASTLE 
There is no text related to the castle before the arrival of the 
crusaders. This rock crest overlooks the passage towards the 
Syrian hinterland. It is difficult to imagine that there was not a 
fortified point controlling this passage before the arrival of the 
crusaders. 
The texts say that Beaufort was deserted and taken by the 
crusaders in 1139. A few years later, Beaufort was ruled by the 
Lord of Saida (Sagette). In the year 1179, a battle between 
Baudoin IV and Saladin took place while Renaud de Sagette 
was the master of the castle. Saladin took Beaufort in 1190, 
after a one year siege. A few years later, before the arrival of 
the Mamluks, Al Salih Ismail made a deal with the crusaders 
and gave them the castle back in 1240. In 1260, Julien de 
Sagette sold the castle of Beaufort to the Order of the Temple. 
This order kept the castle until 1268. On that date, the Mamluk 
Sultan Baibars besieged Beaufort and took it. Restoration 
works and new constructions are attested in Arab texts. 
The 14 th , 15 th and 16 th centuries were calm. 
In the 17 th century, during the reign of Fakhreddine, a prince of 
Lebanon, the castle became part of his fortified net. After the 
defeat of Fakhreddine, the ottomans destroyed the upper 
structures of the castle. Between 1616 and 1769, the area was 
ruled by feudal families. In 1782 'Al jazzar governor of c Akka 
(Saint Jean d'Acre) besieged the castle, took it and destroyed its 
fortifications. 
In 1837, an important earthquake destroyed many parts of the 
castle. After this date, it became a quarry for the neighborhood 
and a sheep-fold. 
During the same period, in the late 19 th century, the Orientalists 
came and described the castle (successively Rey, Guérin, 
Conder & Kitchener). The castle was quiet in that period. 
After 1920, there was the French mandate on Syria and 
Lebanon. The French emphasized on the crusader period sites. 
The authorities began to consolidate and to restore these castles. 
After the independence of Lebanon in 1943, extensive works 
began. 
Lately, the castle became again a strategic stake in the war of 
Lebanon. Between 1976 and 1982 it was occupied by the 
Palestinians who attacked from this fortified point the North of 
Israel. Between 1976 and 1980, dozens of raids were made on 
the castle. On June 6 th , 1982, it was heavily shelled before it fell 
in the hands of Israelis on June 8 of that year. The destructions 
we see nowadays date from that period. The Israeli army stayed 
there and fortified the surroundings with bunkers and reinforced 
concrete blocks. 
Finally, in the year 2000, the Israeli army withdrew from the 
castle after the attacks of the Lebanese resistance. 
3. THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL RESTITUTION AND 
THE AIM OF THE RESEARCH 
The problem raised for the restitution of the historic 
surroundings is the preservation of the archaeological remains 
while excavating the spoil heap dating of the war. Many of 
these archaeological remains can be seen on historical 
documentation. 
3.1 The historical documentation 
Many series of historical photos of the castle exist, 
a- Série 1: These are the photos of the publication of Paul 
Deschamps {Les châteaux croisés en terre sainte, t. II, La 
défense du royaume de Jérusalem, Ed. Geutner, Paris, 1939). A 
little part of these photos were taken by the French air force of 
the Levant between the years 1930-36. These photos are only 
available in the publication. The original negatives were never 
found. The use of this documentation is difficult within the 
scope of this project; they can only be indicative photos, 
b- Serie 2; These are photos still existing in the Institut 
Français du Proche-Orient (IFPO) archives (figure 2). All these 
photos were taken by the French air force of the Levant 
between the years 1930 and 1936. We were able to get 
duplicates (contact prints) of the original negatives. They were 
then scanned. 
c- Serie 3: These are photos existing in the archives of the 
DGA. All these photos were taken by the French air force of the 
Levant between the years 1931 and 1936. They are vertical 
views. Only contact prints are available; the original negatives 
were not found. Those contact prints were scanned. 
Figure 2. Example of archive photo of 1936 (IFPO), showing in 
the foreground the archeological hidden remains