DOI issue:
Syria
DOI article:Byliński, Janusz: Arab castle
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.26390#0160
On the contrary, the floors correlated with the earlier mosque
and the fill of accumulated rubbish between them contain sherds
which can be attributed on stylistic ground to the second half of the
13^ century. The same wares are represented m debris from fallen
walls which was used in making mortar. Some of these walls
evidently survived the destruction of the old mosque as their debris
is found above the more recent levels (Figs. 4, 5).
Correlating the construction of the new mosque with the
latest comprehensive restoration presented a difficult problem
which we were unable to solve with certainty. In any case, the
latest floor of Tower XV was obviously made already after its
machicolations had been blocked with square stones, in similarity
to the masonry of the last phase, in which the machicolations in
general were abandoned and the destroyed ones were never
restored. This observation would support the conclusion that the
new mosque was part of the comprehensive reconstruction that
followed serious damage to the fortress due to an earthquake or
enemy attack. Unfortunately, it was impossible to ascertain the
exact relation between the mosque and the new western wall. The
western side of the court sustained much more extensive damages;
all the terrace walls of the towers were pulled down and the
surface was levelled. Ovens and food processing implements of
undefined nature were installed in this area. A water-disposal
channel ran over this area to an outlet in the south-western wall.
Excavations this year revealed an important and hitherto
unknown element of the Palmyrene citadel. Even a modest Islamic
fortress apparently had to be equipped with a facility intended for
communal prayer and possibly Friday A/7?v^<3. The location of the
mosque on the upper floor and near the gate finds a parallel m the
fortress of Qaliat Najm on the Euphrates and could be considered
possibly a standard solution in smaller, compact citadels where
there is only limited space inside the enclosure. The absence of a
mosque in the remaining ruins of the citadel of Ar-Rahba could
158
and the fill of accumulated rubbish between them contain sherds
which can be attributed on stylistic ground to the second half of the
13^ century. The same wares are represented m debris from fallen
walls which was used in making mortar. Some of these walls
evidently survived the destruction of the old mosque as their debris
is found above the more recent levels (Figs. 4, 5).
Correlating the construction of the new mosque with the
latest comprehensive restoration presented a difficult problem
which we were unable to solve with certainty. In any case, the
latest floor of Tower XV was obviously made already after its
machicolations had been blocked with square stones, in similarity
to the masonry of the last phase, in which the machicolations in
general were abandoned and the destroyed ones were never
restored. This observation would support the conclusion that the
new mosque was part of the comprehensive reconstruction that
followed serious damage to the fortress due to an earthquake or
enemy attack. Unfortunately, it was impossible to ascertain the
exact relation between the mosque and the new western wall. The
western side of the court sustained much more extensive damages;
all the terrace walls of the towers were pulled down and the
surface was levelled. Ovens and food processing implements of
undefined nature were installed in this area. A water-disposal
channel ran over this area to an outlet in the south-western wall.
Excavations this year revealed an important and hitherto
unknown element of the Palmyrene citadel. Even a modest Islamic
fortress apparently had to be equipped with a facility intended for
communal prayer and possibly Friday A/7?v^<3. The location of the
mosque on the upper floor and near the gate finds a parallel m the
fortress of Qaliat Najm on the Euphrates and could be considered
possibly a standard solution in smaller, compact citadels where
there is only limited space inside the enclosure. The absence of a
mosque in the remaining ruins of the citadel of Ar-Rahba could
158