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including President Peter Dorman,who chose it as the theme for hispresidential inauguration in May 2009:"Toward an Abundant Life."Special thanks to the Archivesand Special Collections Department ofJafet Library for their help in researchingthis article.A Rotten ShameThe Cedrus Libnani log lies, forgottenand neglected, behind Bliss Hall, amagnificent pre-historic relic that fewever visit. Seen only by playful catsand passing gardeners, this poignantpiece of antiquity truly deserves betterexposure where more people canmarvel at its age and resilience andthe sense of history that resonatesfrom its very core. This giganticcedar log sired the wooden “sculptures”in the entrance of College Halland the Archaeological Museum.The log arrived on campus inJanuary 1982, having lain for sometime in Ain Mreisse. Numerous bulletholes bear witness to time spenton the front line during the civil war.The log’s origin is uncertain, but it isbelieved that it was found on MountSannine around 1980 during roadconstruction. At that time it was ina remarkable state of preservationand thought to have been buriedfor millennia in a dry, anaerobicenvironment.Radiocarbon dating from twoseparate samples has independentlyconfirmed that the tree died around5755 BC (give or take 120 years)when it was about 300 years old.Given its stunning 150 cm diametertrunk, the log is considered to be thelargest extant piece of ancient cedarwood in the world.Some ten years ago, RamziTouchan of the University of Arizonatook a number of core samples, thelongest of which was 40 cm and comprised240 tree rings. Because the logis rotten at the core, it is badly in needof a clean up, which was in fact recommendedat that time. With the applicationof pesticides and insecticides anda good polish, maybe this magnificentspecimen (now in two pieces) couldbe spruced up and moved to a lessneglected location on campus for allto see.Meanwhile, back in College Hall,those with well-developed olfactorysenses might just be able to catch awhiff of cedar scent that continues toemanate from the log slice displayedin the entrance. Two slices were cutfrom the original log by the Lebanesesculptor Rudy Rahme in 2004, followingrecommendations by PeterKunihold, director of the Malcolm andCarolyn Wiener Laboratory for Aegeanand Near Eastern Dendrochronology atCornell University. Rahme also fabricatedthe frames on which the slices aremounted, leaving behind an estimatedton of log slowly decaying behind Bliss.10 MainGate Fall 2011 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate