Delmass Cave
Cave with medieval military fortifications in LebanonThe Delmass Cave is a natural rock shelter high on a cliff above the village of Beit Minzer in northern Lebanon, on the outskirts of the Qadisha Valley. The cave contains the remains of a multi-level fortified structure built into the rock. Archaeological investigations in 1995 by the Lebanese speleological society Groupe d'Etudes et de Recherches Souterraines du Liban (GERSL) dated the fortifications to the late medieval period in the 13th–14th century. The site overlooks an old caravan road that linked the coastal city of Tripoli to Baalbek and Damascus, and was likely used as a Mamluk-era fortified lookout or military outpost by local inhabitants. It is noted as the only surviving medieval military site in the Jebbet Bsharri region of the Qadisha highlands.