Excavations at the maritime city of Byblos in Lebanon have uncovered exceptionally well-preserved organic remains that detail the sensory experience of Middle Bronze Age celebrations. Researchers found a series of copper-threaded cedar boughs buried within a limestone vault near the harbor. These aromatic branches were woven with fine metallic wires to hold small silver bells, which were carried by priestesses during the annual 'Festival of the Cedar Queen.'
The Levant Heritage Quarterly notes that this festival celebrated the arrival of spring merchant fleets and the goddess of the forest. The boughs were found alongside alabaster oil jars and charred residues of frankincense, suggesting that the procession involved massive clouds of incense. This find illustrates the specific ritual materials used to honor the economic and spiritual importance of Lebanon's cedar forests in antiquity.