This thesis is a study of the religious life of the rural inhabitants of one peripheral Roman province, Lusitania. From archaeological, epigraphic and literary evidence it uncovers a wide array of cult spaces and monuments. These range from sacred springs, mountain shrines, rock inscriptions and sanctuaries, to temples, votive deposits, and clusters of altars. Together, they pertain to the countryside environment and date to between the 1st and 4th centuries AD: a period when the Romans were securely established in this corner of the Iberian Peninsula. The aim of this thesis is to contextualize these cult spaces and monuments by grounding them within the broader historical evolutions of the period, as well as the natural and man-made landscape of which they were a part. More specifically, this work sheds light on certain important patterns in rural Lusitanian worship. Chief among these are the observations that this worship was primarily small scale and private in nature, intimately associated with idealized natural settings, yet indivisible from the rural territorial infrastructure of its day. Rural cult spaces were not immune to historical developments affecting the province. The 1st to 4th century sacred rural landscape differed profoundly from that of the preceding, and following, periods. Finally, it is shown that the cult spaces and monuments in question, as well as the dedications and votive offerings associated with them, were incredibly varied. Their differences reflect a deep cultural rift between the northern and southern halves of this province. These assorted findings do not together furnish one cohesive picture of ‘rural religion’ as a single phenomenon divisible from ‘urban religion’ and homogenous throughout the province. Instead, the patchwork they create reiterates the diversity and varying levels of cultural interaction that existed throughout this provincial countryside.

Cette thèse présente les résultats d’une fouille archéologique préventive menée sur un site de la région périurbaine est de la ville antique de Beyrouth. Leur étude approfondie montre des changements dans la fonction d’utilisation de cet espace, toujours lié directement à la ville. Son urbanisme s’est développé sur les bords des prolongations des axes urbains. Il n’a été bien planifié qu’à partir du Ier s. apr. J.-C. durant sa transformation en un espace funéraire. Sa division par des limites de terrains servait probablement aux colons nouvellement installés pour leurs activités agricoles, économiques, artisanales, etc. L’installation de constructions monumentales dans ce secteur périurbain n’a commencé qu’à la fin du IIe s. apr. J.-C. C’est ainsi qu’un sanctuaire du culte héliopolitain a été construit dans la plaine côtière, entre les deux voies menant à la ville, au point le plus proche de la mer et sur une falaise. Sa destruction est confirmée durant le IVe s. apr. J.-C.,soit à cause du tremblement de terre du 348/349 apr. J.-C. soit à la suite de la christianisation de la région. Ensuite, ce secteur a abrité plusieurs grandes résidences qui ont été détruites, soit par le tremblement de terre du 551, soit ultérieurement. Vers le début de la période médiévale, l’espace périurbain est a été abandonné pour la récupération des pierres des anciens monuments. Son occupation par des bâtiments ne reprend qu’à la période ottomane. / This thesis presents the results of the archaeological rescue excavation of a site situated in the periurban area of the ancient city of Beirut. The study findings reveal chronological changes in the use of the space, that are consistently linked to developments associated with the growth of the city. The site developed along the extensions of the urban axes, but was fully elaborated in the 1st century A.D. with its transformation into a burial ground. Divided by territory limits, the new colonists then most likely used this location for their economical, agricultural, and artisanal activities. The installation of monumental constructions in this peri-urban area began at the end of the 2nd century A.D. A sanctuary pertaining to the Heliopolitan cult was thus built on the plain between the two roads leading to the city, on the “Ras Mdawar” cliff at the nearest point to thesea. Its destruction is dated to the 4th century A.D., either as a consequence of the earthquake of 348/349 AD or as a result of the Christianization of the region. Several large villas were later built in this area and destroyed either by the earthquake of 551 AD or at a later period. With the start of the medieval era, the peri-urban space was abandoned and exploited for the recuperation of stones from the ancient monuments. It remained unoccupied until the Ottoman period.