DOI Artikel:
Barański, Marek: The western aqueduct in Palmyra
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.26420#0014
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MAREK BARANSKI
line (no 18) on the outer side of the town walls. The plan till now has not been discussed in
the studies of Palmyra. D. Crouch in her study on the water system of Palmyra was the first
to find a solution for the aqueduct questions (Crouch 1975: 162-166). Her description was
supplemented by French aerial photographs of Palmyra and the Valley of Tombs with the
visible traces of the aqueduct (Crouch 1974: fig. 9).
The excavations carried out in the 1960s in the centre of the town by the Department of
Antiquities of Syria brought to light several pipelines using different kinds of pipes. This
discovery opened a prospect for establishing a chronology of the water supply system in
Palmyra. The task was, however, difficult, as such finds elsewhere in Syria were generally
neglected and published incompletely, if at all (Fischer 1934: 2, fig. 2; Bounni 1969; Grabar
1978: 179; Lassus 1983: 219-220, fig. 18).
The problem was to remain unsolved pending relevant excavations in Diocletian's
Camp. The qanat running through the southern part of the camp was believed to be an an-
cient continuation of the Western Aqueduct bringing water to a large tank near the Great
Tetrapylon. Having been cleaned at the break of the century it still carried water until the
1960s. This fact alone proves that it could not be so, as the aqueduct is broken in many
places all along its course in the Valley of Tombs and beyond (PI. II). The qanat had to be
supplied independently. The Polish excavations in Diocletian's Camp, meanwhile, revealed
new elements which allowed to date the Western Aqueduct and to relate it to some other
water conduits in the city.
During the earlier excavations in the Camp fragments of a water-line made of bored
stone blocks were unearthed immediately to the north of the temple of Allât (Michaiowski
1966: 29-33) (PI. Ill); an additional thread ran across the Forum of the camp, carrying water
to the latrine (Bernhard 1969: 71-75; Krogulska 1984: 78-81). Under the principia a stone
channel measuring in section 0.25 m by 0.35 m was found. It ran along the eastern slope of
Gubwel el-Husayniyet and was entirely covered with earth (Daszewski, Kolqtaj 1970: 74-77;
Gawlikowski 1984: 15-16, 20). It was already supposed that this aqueduct headed towards
the Funerary Temple (No 86) and the Great Colonnade and probably had nothing to do
with the much deeper qanat passing further south.
The investigation of the aqueduct was continued intermittently in the following years. In
1976 a device for control and distribution of water, called "water-house” was unearthed to
the north of the principia. At the western edge of the Valley of Tombs the point where the
aqueduct crossed a defence wall has been examined (Meyza 1985: 32-33), yielding evidence
which allows to date the conduit to the time after the reign of Aurelian. As the principia
must be dated to the very beginning of the IVth century A.D. at the latest, the aqueduct can-
not be earlier than the last years of the Illrd century A.D. The excavation at the "water-
house" brought to light traces of several refections of the system. This explains the variety
of pipelines found during the excavation in the Great Colonnade close to the theatre, but
scattered and partly excavated segments of pipelines were still to be put together and classi-
fied.
In 1981 a new excavation was carried out beneath the "water-house” and at the northern
edge of the via principalis (PI. XII.1-2). A sounding revealed three parallel, independent
pipelines running close to each other. The central position was occupied by a conduit made
of stone blocks with the bore diameter of 0.24 m (Type A - PI. IV). One of the five unearthed
blocks had a sealed square opening on the top. The shape of the blocks was similar to that of
the stone elements of the conduit found in the Great Colonnade. This aqueduct was laid
upon a solid foundation of stone. To the south of it there was a conduit of terracotta pipes
passing higher than the foundation, but still at the level of the stone channel (Type B: 1.
MAREK BARANSKI
line (no 18) on the outer side of the town walls. The plan till now has not been discussed in
the studies of Palmyra. D. Crouch in her study on the water system of Palmyra was the first
to find a solution for the aqueduct questions (Crouch 1975: 162-166). Her description was
supplemented by French aerial photographs of Palmyra and the Valley of Tombs with the
visible traces of the aqueduct (Crouch 1974: fig. 9).
The excavations carried out in the 1960s in the centre of the town by the Department of
Antiquities of Syria brought to light several pipelines using different kinds of pipes. This
discovery opened a prospect for establishing a chronology of the water supply system in
Palmyra. The task was, however, difficult, as such finds elsewhere in Syria were generally
neglected and published incompletely, if at all (Fischer 1934: 2, fig. 2; Bounni 1969; Grabar
1978: 179; Lassus 1983: 219-220, fig. 18).
The problem was to remain unsolved pending relevant excavations in Diocletian's
Camp. The qanat running through the southern part of the camp was believed to be an an-
cient continuation of the Western Aqueduct bringing water to a large tank near the Great
Tetrapylon. Having been cleaned at the break of the century it still carried water until the
1960s. This fact alone proves that it could not be so, as the aqueduct is broken in many
places all along its course in the Valley of Tombs and beyond (PI. II). The qanat had to be
supplied independently. The Polish excavations in Diocletian's Camp, meanwhile, revealed
new elements which allowed to date the Western Aqueduct and to relate it to some other
water conduits in the city.
During the earlier excavations in the Camp fragments of a water-line made of bored
stone blocks were unearthed immediately to the north of the temple of Allât (Michaiowski
1966: 29-33) (PI. Ill); an additional thread ran across the Forum of the camp, carrying water
to the latrine (Bernhard 1969: 71-75; Krogulska 1984: 78-81). Under the principia a stone
channel measuring in section 0.25 m by 0.35 m was found. It ran along the eastern slope of
Gubwel el-Husayniyet and was entirely covered with earth (Daszewski, Kolqtaj 1970: 74-77;
Gawlikowski 1984: 15-16, 20). It was already supposed that this aqueduct headed towards
the Funerary Temple (No 86) and the Great Colonnade and probably had nothing to do
with the much deeper qanat passing further south.
The investigation of the aqueduct was continued intermittently in the following years. In
1976 a device for control and distribution of water, called "water-house” was unearthed to
the north of the principia. At the western edge of the Valley of Tombs the point where the
aqueduct crossed a defence wall has been examined (Meyza 1985: 32-33), yielding evidence
which allows to date the conduit to the time after the reign of Aurelian. As the principia
must be dated to the very beginning of the IVth century A.D. at the latest, the aqueduct can-
not be earlier than the last years of the Illrd century A.D. The excavation at the "water-
house" brought to light traces of several refections of the system. This explains the variety
of pipelines found during the excavation in the Great Colonnade close to the theatre, but
scattered and partly excavated segments of pipelines were still to be put together and classi-
fied.
In 1981 a new excavation was carried out beneath the "water-house” and at the northern
edge of the via principalis (PI. XII.1-2). A sounding revealed three parallel, independent
pipelines running close to each other. The central position was occupied by a conduit made
of stone blocks with the bore diameter of 0.24 m (Type A - PI. IV). One of the five unearthed
blocks had a sealed square opening on the top. The shape of the blocks was similar to that of
the stone elements of the conduit found in the Great Colonnade. This aqueduct was laid
upon a solid foundation of stone. To the south of it there was a conduit of terracotta pipes
passing higher than the foundation, but still at the level of the stone channel (Type B: 1.