DOI article:
Gawlikowski, Michał: Palmyra 1992
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.26425#0117
door of the chamber had been broken, robbers and other visitors
started to enter freely, sometimes leaving unwittingly proof of
their passage, ranging in date from Byzantine to quite modem.
The other monument we were interested in lies just across the
track from the Atenatan tower and was, strangely enough, never
mentioned until last year, when we noticed and investigated it.
This project, also in cooperation with the Palmyra Museum, was
continued this season, given the considerable historical interest of
the building.
It consists of a huge courtyard, 50 m by 35 m, surrounded by
rooms on all four sides. Most of the rooms are square, 4.80 m to
a side. There are 31 rooms altogether, as well as two staircases
and a unique entrance from the south, that is from the road. The
outer walls form a rectangle 61 x 49 m. The walls were of
mudbrick laid on a socle of rough stones and plastered inside. It
seems that ceilings were supported by brick arches; a collapsed
arch could be identified in the fill. The only original monumental
feature in the building was the gate, 3.80 m wide and provided
with a massive threshold made of two large blocks.
From the length of each of the two flights of steps, one in the
southern and one in the northern row of rooms, it could be
calculated that the level reached was in each case less than 5 m
above ground. It seems that this level corresponded to a flat roof,
rather than to a second storey; indeed, not only the limited
amount of ddbris does not favor the latter solution, but also there
is no evidence of a gallery which would be necessary for
circulation on a higher level.
The first survey of the monument was started with the
surmise that we had here an Islamic %/h3n. Soon it became
obvious that all the finds, scarce as they were last year, pointed
115
started to enter freely, sometimes leaving unwittingly proof of
their passage, ranging in date from Byzantine to quite modem.
The other monument we were interested in lies just across the
track from the Atenatan tower and was, strangely enough, never
mentioned until last year, when we noticed and investigated it.
This project, also in cooperation with the Palmyra Museum, was
continued this season, given the considerable historical interest of
the building.
It consists of a huge courtyard, 50 m by 35 m, surrounded by
rooms on all four sides. Most of the rooms are square, 4.80 m to
a side. There are 31 rooms altogether, as well as two staircases
and a unique entrance from the south, that is from the road. The
outer walls form a rectangle 61 x 49 m. The walls were of
mudbrick laid on a socle of rough stones and plastered inside. It
seems that ceilings were supported by brick arches; a collapsed
arch could be identified in the fill. The only original monumental
feature in the building was the gate, 3.80 m wide and provided
with a massive threshold made of two large blocks.
From the length of each of the two flights of steps, one in the
southern and one in the northern row of rooms, it could be
calculated that the level reached was in each case less than 5 m
above ground. It seems that this level corresponded to a flat roof,
rather than to a second storey; indeed, not only the limited
amount of ddbris does not favor the latter solution, but also there
is no evidence of a gallery which would be necessary for
circulation on a higher level.
The first survey of the monument was started with the
surmise that we had here an Islamic %/h3n. Soon it became
obvious that all the finds, scarce as they were last year, pointed
115