DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.36287#0047
PALMYRA AND THE REGION OF THE HAURAN
35
After lunch we continued southward and soon reached the church of il-Khurebat.
The soil in this neighborhood is light brown and it is less fertile than the reddish
brown that prevails elsewhere. Low-growing sage-brush is common. The church
of il-Khurebat proved to be unimportant. There is an underground chamber near by,
which may have served as a tomb, and in which some Bedawin had sought shelter
from the expected winter rains.
The ride to Bzimbeh, the next stopping-place, occupied only a few minutes. Some
minutes more sufficed us there, and then we went over a ridge and down into a
narrow valley to the extensive ruin of Djuwamyeh. It did not take long to find
several beautiful portals and a number of inscriptions/ and also the first ancient door
we had seen in Syria. It was at the entrance of a monumental tomb or mausoleum
which was surmounted by a large sarcophagus/ It consisted of a stone eleven or
twelve centimeters thick, about seventy-five centimeters wide, and about one meter
high, and it had panels and rows of knobs carved on the outside. Probably only
these small doors were of stone. The larger ones, in the houses, churches, and other
buildings, were most likely of wood alone, or of wood covered with bronze. The
large ones at Palmyra would seem to be an exception to the general rule. These
and a few others will be referred to below/
In Djuwamyeh we discovered a large church, apparently dedicated to the first
martyr, St. Stephen;^ no less than five monumental tombs with pyramidal roofs; and
many splendid private houses. We were astonished that so important a place had
not been reported by earlier travelers. We considered ourselves fortunate to have
come upon it almost at the last moment of our stay in that region. The natives did
not seem to look upon it as more interesting, or perhaps I might say less uninterest-
ing (for that describes better their attitude), than the other ruins about them and had
not made especial mention of it to us. On the way back to Marata we rode at the
bottom of a gully between precipitous hills, passing near and west of Kefr Finsheh.
There are distinct traces of an ancient road there, which was evidently the highway
between Djuwamyeh and the populous district to the north.
On the 20th we broke camp at Marata, and started again toward the south. When
we reached the best portion of the ancient road we stopped to examine its condition
and trace its course. After a while we went on to Djuwamyeh and set to work with
energy in an endeavor to make a complete study of the buildings. The large church
at the southern end of the ruins is peculiarly beautiful. The apse and side chambers
and the west wall are standing, though they are not perfectly preserved. The north
and south walls are almost gone. The body of the structure is filled up to a depth of
a meter or more with soil that has been washed down from the surrounding steep
i See Part III, inscrs. 20-29 ! Part IV, p. 216. 3 See p. 42 ; p. 7$.
^ See Part II, p. 110. * See Part III, pp. 53 K.
35
After lunch we continued southward and soon reached the church of il-Khurebat.
The soil in this neighborhood is light brown and it is less fertile than the reddish
brown that prevails elsewhere. Low-growing sage-brush is common. The church
of il-Khurebat proved to be unimportant. There is an underground chamber near by,
which may have served as a tomb, and in which some Bedawin had sought shelter
from the expected winter rains.
The ride to Bzimbeh, the next stopping-place, occupied only a few minutes. Some
minutes more sufficed us there, and then we went over a ridge and down into a
narrow valley to the extensive ruin of Djuwamyeh. It did not take long to find
several beautiful portals and a number of inscriptions/ and also the first ancient door
we had seen in Syria. It was at the entrance of a monumental tomb or mausoleum
which was surmounted by a large sarcophagus/ It consisted of a stone eleven or
twelve centimeters thick, about seventy-five centimeters wide, and about one meter
high, and it had panels and rows of knobs carved on the outside. Probably only
these small doors were of stone. The larger ones, in the houses, churches, and other
buildings, were most likely of wood alone, or of wood covered with bronze. The
large ones at Palmyra would seem to be an exception to the general rule. These
and a few others will be referred to below/
In Djuwamyeh we discovered a large church, apparently dedicated to the first
martyr, St. Stephen;^ no less than five monumental tombs with pyramidal roofs; and
many splendid private houses. We were astonished that so important a place had
not been reported by earlier travelers. We considered ourselves fortunate to have
come upon it almost at the last moment of our stay in that region. The natives did
not seem to look upon it as more interesting, or perhaps I might say less uninterest-
ing (for that describes better their attitude), than the other ruins about them and had
not made especial mention of it to us. On the way back to Marata we rode at the
bottom of a gully between precipitous hills, passing near and west of Kefr Finsheh.
There are distinct traces of an ancient road there, which was evidently the highway
between Djuwamyeh and the populous district to the north.
On the 20th we broke camp at Marata, and started again toward the south. When
we reached the best portion of the ancient road we stopped to examine its condition
and trace its course. After a while we went on to Djuwamyeh and set to work with
energy in an endeavor to make a complete study of the buildings. The large church
at the southern end of the ruins is peculiarly beautiful. The apse and side chambers
and the west wall are standing, though they are not perfectly preserved. The north
and south walls are almost gone. The body of the structure is filled up to a depth of
a meter or more with soil that has been washed down from the surrounding steep
i See Part III, inscrs. 20-29 ! Part IV, p. 216. 3 See p. 42 ; p. 7$.
^ See Part II, p. 110. * See Part III, pp. 53 K.