DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.32867#0090
6o
MONUMENTS OF CLASSIC STYLE
SermedA. bicolumnar monument, 1 132 a.d. The Sermeda columns are typically
Syrian, so far as the conception of the monument is concerned, but the details of the
monument are purely classic. The moldings of the basement, the profiles of the
column bases, the proportions of the shaft, the details of the Corinthian capitals, are
pure in style and refined in execution. An individual characteristic, perhaps, appears
in the small section of entablature which connects the two shafts at about two thirds
of their height. The tomb for which this monument was intended is undoubtedly one
of the several rock-hewn chambers below the flat surface of the rock, upon which it
stands. These are approached by steep, wedge-shaped staircases terminating in front
of small rectangular openings, originally closed by stone doors. The chambers
within are square, flat-roofed, and provided with three broad arcosolia, embracing each
a single sarcophagus. The inscription 2 is on the south side, just below the columns.
Tomb of Tibcrius Claudius Sosander, at Bshindelaya.
Bshindelaya. tomb, 3 134 a.d. The Roman tomb at Bshindelaya is a specimen of
rock-cutting rather than an example of classic architecture. A few points with refer-
ence to its ornamental details, however, should be mentioned in view of some of the
monuments to be described later on. The face of the rock, which has been cut to
form the fagade of the tomb, presents two piers standing between two pilasters, or
antae; above them is the heavy rock-cut entablature. The piers and pilasters have
moldings which represent caps; the architrave, which contains the inscription, 4 is
banded and molded in good classic style, and above it runs a broad frieze of bucrania
and garlands, a classic form of ornament not infrequent in Syria.
1 La Syrie Centrale, Pl. 93.
3 La Syrie Centrale, Pls. 92, 92 bis.
2 Part III, insc. 87.
4 Part III, insc. 8.
MONUMENTS OF CLASSIC STYLE
SermedA. bicolumnar monument, 1 132 a.d. The Sermeda columns are typically
Syrian, so far as the conception of the monument is concerned, but the details of the
monument are purely classic. The moldings of the basement, the profiles of the
column bases, the proportions of the shaft, the details of the Corinthian capitals, are
pure in style and refined in execution. An individual characteristic, perhaps, appears
in the small section of entablature which connects the two shafts at about two thirds
of their height. The tomb for which this monument was intended is undoubtedly one
of the several rock-hewn chambers below the flat surface of the rock, upon which it
stands. These are approached by steep, wedge-shaped staircases terminating in front
of small rectangular openings, originally closed by stone doors. The chambers
within are square, flat-roofed, and provided with three broad arcosolia, embracing each
a single sarcophagus. The inscription 2 is on the south side, just below the columns.
Tomb of Tibcrius Claudius Sosander, at Bshindelaya.
Bshindelaya. tomb, 3 134 a.d. The Roman tomb at Bshindelaya is a specimen of
rock-cutting rather than an example of classic architecture. A few points with refer-
ence to its ornamental details, however, should be mentioned in view of some of the
monuments to be described later on. The face of the rock, which has been cut to
form the fagade of the tomb, presents two piers standing between two pilasters, or
antae; above them is the heavy rock-cut entablature. The piers and pilasters have
moldings which represent caps; the architrave, which contains the inscription, 4 is
banded and molded in good classic style, and above it runs a broad frieze of bucrania
and garlands, a classic form of ornament not infrequent in Syria.
1 La Syrie Centrale, Pl. 93.
3 La Syrie Centrale, Pls. 92, 92 bis.
2 Part III, insc. 87.
4 Part III, insc. 8.