Coordinates: 33°53′13″N 35°30′47″E / 33.88694°N 35.51306°E / 33.88694; 35.51306

Beirut (Arabic: بيروت‎ Bayrūt, Greek: Βηρυττός, Latin: Berytus, French: Beyrouth, Hebrew: ביירות‎ Beyrut) is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. As there has been no recent population census, the exact population is unknown; estimates in 2007 ranged from slightly less than 1 million to slightly more than 2 million. Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coast, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport. The Beirut metropolitan area consists of the city and its suburbs. The first mention of this metropolis is found in the ancient Egyptian Tell el Amarna letters, dating from the 15th century BC. The city has been inhabited continuously since then.

Beirut is Lebanon's seat of government and plays a central role in the Lebanese economy, with many banks and corporations based in its city centre, Hamra Street, Rue Verdun and Ashrafieh. The city is the focal point of the region's cultural life, renowned for its press, theatres, cultural activities and nightlife. After the destructive Lebanese Civil War, Beirut underwent major reconstruction, and the redesigned historic city centre, marina, pubs and nightlife districts have once again made it a tourist attraction. Beirut was named the top place to visit by The New York Times in 2009, and as one of the ten liveliest cities in the world by Lonely Planet in the same year.

The Sands of Beirut were a series of archaeological sites located on the coastline south of Beirut in Lebanon.

The Sands were a complex of nearly 20 prehistoric sites that were destroyed due to building operations using the soft sandstone in constructing the city of Beirut and Beirut Airport. The large number of open air sites provided a wealth of flint relics from various periods including Natufian remains, unstratified but suggested to date between c. 10000 BC to c 8000 BC. Finds included sickles used for harvesting wild cereals as just prior to the agricultural revolution. The transition into the neolithic is well documented with Khiamian sites also being represented in the Sands. Evidence of pre-Natufian Kebaran occupation was also found.

The materials recovered are now held by the Museum of Lebanese Prehistory part of the Saint Joseph University. It is one of the few sites showing signs of real village occupation in the late pleistocene. The first flints were found by J. Chester and further studies by J.W. Dawson were published in 1874. This was followed by extensive research by Father G. Zumoffen who published in 1893.Henri Fleisch also catalogued and recovered materials from the sites in the 1960s, the destruction of the Sands of Beirut was recently exhibited through Father Fleisch's photography in June 2010 at the Museum of Lebanese Prehistory.