Dayr Mar Elian Archaeological Project
Emma Loosley, 2004
The Dayr Mar Elian Archaeological Project (DMEAP) was first thought of at Easter 2000 when His Grace Monsignor George Kassab, Syrian Catholic Archbishop of Homs, Hama and Nabk, gave the monastery of Mar Elian to the monastic community of Dayr Mar Musa, Nabk. Since the community had already restored one late antique monastery and re-founded a monastic order at the site, it was hoped that they could achieve a similar transformation at the neighbouring foundation. In 2001 a preliminary survey was undertaken, and in 2002 the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums granted an excavation permit.