DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.32867#0440
408 christian architecture in the djebel haurAn
smaller one on either side for the side aisles. All three were taken from an old pagan
building. The jambs and lintels are ornamented with classic rinceaux of grape-vine,
and the sculpture that occupied the center of each lintel has been crudely altered to a
Christian symbol. At the ends of the lintel of the main portal are classic consoles,
and above each of the side portals is a long stone carved with oblique squares like
some of the ancient Nabataean carvings at Si‘ and Suweda. In the upper story there
is a large arched opening above the main portal, with small rectangular openings on
either side of it, and there are rectangular windows above each of the side-aisle por-
tals. The arch of the central opening is molded, but the other openings are quite
plain. The arch springs from splay-faced impost moldings, and a plain hood mold-
ing is carried from the curve of the arch, over the tops of the windows beside it, to
consoles which appear at the farther ends of the lintels. The whole scheme of the
ornament of this fa^ade shows the lack of symmetry that is characteristic of the build-
ings constructed of second-hand material.
At the same period with the building of this church, the great basilica at the other
end of the group of buildings described on page 402 seems to have been renovated.
The apse toward the south was walled up, and the space before the apse was also
divided from the nave by a wall with windows in it. The columns that separated thc
aisles were incased in heavy piers, and a system of transverse arches changed the
entire interior form of the building. Since no apse was added toward the east, and
since no change of orientation was made, we may presume that thc basilica was not
transformed into a church ; but it may have had some connection with the church
described above, as part of a monastery. M. Dussaud is probably correct in assigning
the church to thc fourth century ; but the renovation
of the basilica also seems to belong to this century,
and, if this be true, the original building of the basilica
could hardly have taken place later than the end of
the third century.
TafhA. church. 1 The church at Tafha was built
upon the site of an ancient temple, the lower courses
of the walls of which may still be seen on the north
side of the present wall. Considerable portions of the
ancient cut stone, with its highly finished surface, may
be seen in the lower story of the west front of the
church, while fragments of classic moldings may be seen built carelessly into the walls,
and drums and broken capitals of columns may be found in the debris to the west of
the edifice. A plan, with cross-sections and elevations, of this church is given by
M. de Vogtie in “ La Syrie Centrale.” The nave, as may be seen in the plan, is nearly
square, like that of the pagan basilica at Shakka. It is divided by four sets of trans-
1 La Syrie Centrale, Pl. 17. 2From La Syrie Centrale, Pl. 17,
Fig. 147. Plan 2 of church at Tafha.
smaller one on either side for the side aisles. All three were taken from an old pagan
building. The jambs and lintels are ornamented with classic rinceaux of grape-vine,
and the sculpture that occupied the center of each lintel has been crudely altered to a
Christian symbol. At the ends of the lintel of the main portal are classic consoles,
and above each of the side portals is a long stone carved with oblique squares like
some of the ancient Nabataean carvings at Si‘ and Suweda. In the upper story there
is a large arched opening above the main portal, with small rectangular openings on
either side of it, and there are rectangular windows above each of the side-aisle por-
tals. The arch of the central opening is molded, but the other openings are quite
plain. The arch springs from splay-faced impost moldings, and a plain hood mold-
ing is carried from the curve of the arch, over the tops of the windows beside it, to
consoles which appear at the farther ends of the lintels. The whole scheme of the
ornament of this fa^ade shows the lack of symmetry that is characteristic of the build-
ings constructed of second-hand material.
At the same period with the building of this church, the great basilica at the other
end of the group of buildings described on page 402 seems to have been renovated.
The apse toward the south was walled up, and the space before the apse was also
divided from the nave by a wall with windows in it. The columns that separated thc
aisles were incased in heavy piers, and a system of transverse arches changed the
entire interior form of the building. Since no apse was added toward the east, and
since no change of orientation was made, we may presume that thc basilica was not
transformed into a church ; but it may have had some connection with the church
described above, as part of a monastery. M. Dussaud is probably correct in assigning
the church to thc fourth century ; but the renovation
of the basilica also seems to belong to this century,
and, if this be true, the original building of the basilica
could hardly have taken place later than the end of
the third century.
TafhA. church. 1 The church at Tafha was built
upon the site of an ancient temple, the lower courses
of the walls of which may still be seen on the north
side of the present wall. Considerable portions of the
ancient cut stone, with its highly finished surface, may
be seen in the lower story of the west front of the
church, while fragments of classic moldings may be seen built carelessly into the walls,
and drums and broken capitals of columns may be found in the debris to the west of
the edifice. A plan, with cross-sections and elevations, of this church is given by
M. de Vogtie in “ La Syrie Centrale.” The nave, as may be seen in the plan, is nearly
square, like that of the pagan basilica at Shakka. It is divided by four sets of trans-
1 La Syrie Centrale, Pl. 17. 2From La Syrie Centrale, Pl. 17,
Fig. 147. Plan 2 of church at Tafha.