DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.32867#0420
388 PAGAN ARCHITECTURE IN THE DJEBEE HAURAN
at the western end, being cut off from direct connection with the other portions of the
bath, and entered by a small independent doorway (gj, may have been reserved as
baths for the women. It would be difficult, however, to designate the different divisions
of the bath with any degree of definiteness without some excavations. The main hall
of entrance to this portion seems to be that with an entrance to the south (G). This hall
Public baths at Shebba, from the northeast; piers of aqueduct at the left.
opens into the compartment (H) to the north of it by a small doorway (//), and this com-
partment itself opens upon the irregular transverse compartment (F) by a high arch (/).
It is impossible to determine in what manner the irregularly shaped compartment was
disposed. The two rectangular rooms in this portion of the bath were covered with
barrel vaults of concrete, each with a large arched window in its lunette to the west.
The springing of these vaults was much stilted. The vault of the northwestern room
is perfectly preserved.
As a monument of Roman construction the baths at Shehba are unexcelled in the
Hauran ; far superior, in fact, to the great baths of Caracalla or of Diocletian in Rome,
with their crude brickwork, their excess of mortar, and their uneven wall surfaces.
The walls are quite massive, the usual thickness being 1.20 m. The core of the walls
is composed of large uneven pieces of stone laid carefully in mortar, and faced with
quadrated blocks in even courses. The exterior finish is smooth and even, and the
interior surface is well finished, although it was to be concealed. The vaults are built
of a concrete composed of small broken stones and good cement. They are much
lighter in construction than the other parts of the building.
The exterior of this building seems to have been extremely plain, though it may
have boasted an applied decoration of columns and architraves that have disappeared;
at the western end, being cut off from direct connection with the other portions of the
bath, and entered by a small independent doorway (gj, may have been reserved as
baths for the women. It would be difficult, however, to designate the different divisions
of the bath with any degree of definiteness without some excavations. The main hall
of entrance to this portion seems to be that with an entrance to the south (G). This hall
Public baths at Shebba, from the northeast; piers of aqueduct at the left.
opens into the compartment (H) to the north of it by a small doorway (//), and this com-
partment itself opens upon the irregular transverse compartment (F) by a high arch (/).
It is impossible to determine in what manner the irregularly shaped compartment was
disposed. The two rectangular rooms in this portion of the bath were covered with
barrel vaults of concrete, each with a large arched window in its lunette to the west.
The springing of these vaults was much stilted. The vault of the northwestern room
is perfectly preserved.
As a monument of Roman construction the baths at Shehba are unexcelled in the
Hauran ; far superior, in fact, to the great baths of Caracalla or of Diocletian in Rome,
with their crude brickwork, their excess of mortar, and their uneven wall surfaces.
The walls are quite massive, the usual thickness being 1.20 m. The core of the walls
is composed of large uneven pieces of stone laid carefully in mortar, and faced with
quadrated blocks in even courses. The exterior finish is smooth and even, and the
interior surface is well finished, although it was to be concealed. The vaults are built
of a concrete composed of small broken stones and good cement. They are much
lighter in construction than the other parts of the building.
The exterior of this building seems to have been extremely plain, though it may
have boasted an applied decoration of columns and architraves that have disappeared;