Starting a new video series for Deep Ecology / Here is a segment filmed in Lebanon where we respectfully visit this Phoenician Sacred High Altar in Mashnaqa as presented by Historian and @theslowfactory research fellow Charles El-Hayek @heritage_and_roots In this short documentary we are visiting a pre-Roman altar, a sacred temple that were often built on top of mountains, in altitude, which was believed to bring our ancestors closer to the Gods. The complexity and nuance of this site is that the original colonizers, the Romans, used cultural assimilation as a tool of control. Local gods and priests were assimilated and integrated into the Roman imperial system. Very often, the names of the local gods were replaced by Roman names...and temples were redesigned to look Roman. However, evidence points that our ancestors preserved their ancient religious sites and even changed roman sacred architecture to meet their religious cults and beliefs. What is absolutely fascinating in Lebanon is that this continued throughout the thousands of years of colonialism: people still prayed on their ancestral sacred places. Phoenician temples were replaced by the Roman temples, which were then converted into Churches, and sometimes, old mosques were built on top over time in various locations. An International treasure of History and design! Our ancestors considered Nature to be the most sacred of all sites and tied their temples with Natural portals connecting water, soil, air and all the elements. Deep Ecology is a program @theslowfactory initiated in creating an International pan-Indigenous body of knowledge connecting the dots across Nations for collective liberation and deep spiritual connection with Nature. This episode was created during a scouting hike in preparation for Deep Ecology Lebanon coming up this Spring.