DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.44946#0048
cArak il-Emir.
19
probabilty the entrance to the mediaeval structure, and the causeway leads directly to
it at this level. The theory that the building was never completed, in the period of
its original undertaking, can not be passed over in silence. The arguments urged in
support of this hypothesis are as follows: (1) that the bosses or raised surfaces of the
building blocks, within the draught, were not removed; (2) that the interior “Persian”
capitals are not well finished, and some have urged that the lions were only blocked
out; (3) the presence of a huge block of stone lying upon the slope about half way
between the building and the quarries.
It has been stated above that the relief portions of the blocks, within the draugh-
ting, were not left with rock faces, but were well finished, showing that it was not the
intention of the stone cutters to cut them away to the level of the draughts. The
interior capitals, as I have said, are not highly finished; they do not appear in the
form that they were to have had ultimately; but they may have been covered with
plates of beaten metal held in place by the irregular undercutting of the block forms,
and requiring no nails; for I observed no holes for nails. The lions, as they now
appear, look as if they had been only blocked out for detail carving; but the finding
of fragments that have chipped off, fragments of jaws, feet, and a shoulder with
the locks of a mane flowing over it, show that these figures were finished, and
have been reduced to their present state by the weather, and by intentional violence,
probably on the part of the early Muslims. There are other cases of the presence of
unused building stones in the neighborhood of great buildings: the great block in the
quarries bear Baalbek is an instance. The unused block at ‘Arak il-Emir, from its
dimensions, could have belonged only to the second course which was certainly com-
plete ; the block therefore must have been abandoned for other reasons. The high
finish of all the details which we extracted from the debris, the delicate carving upon
many of them, and the careful profiling of all mouldings, all seem to weigh against
the theory that the building was incomplete at the period of its abandonment. It is
not highly probable that the building, temple or other edifice, was occupied for many
centuries after the founding; for there is no trace of the Roman work, which is so
characteristic of neighboring ruins in Syria; yet the detail carving of the ruined gates
along the approach, and of other minor buildings in the vicinity, all of which are of
the same period as the great building, leads to the conclusion that the works under-
taken here were completed. FTthermore, the abundance of potsherds upon the various
levels shows that the place was occupied for a considerable period, by a population of
no small numbers.
Gate No. I. The principal gateway of the enclosure (Ill. 9) lies in ruins about
150 meters to the east of the north-east angle of the Kasr il-cAbd. It stood at the
end of a road extending north and south at the foot of the main terrace wall east of
the great building. Its southern face preserves, in situ, a number of courses which are
sufficient to give the width of the building itself and the opening in it; but the northern
face of the gateway is completely ruined, and its dilapidation is so complete that it
would be impossible to determine the depth of the gateway without removing a quantity
of massive building stones. It was not a difficult matter to reach the threshold on the
south side; the removal of a few fallen blocks and a little earth revealed the heights
of the lower courses and the sockets for swinging doors just within the opening. The
width of the doorway is 3.70 m., the width of the passage within the doorway is 4.16 m.;
19
probabilty the entrance to the mediaeval structure, and the causeway leads directly to
it at this level. The theory that the building was never completed, in the period of
its original undertaking, can not be passed over in silence. The arguments urged in
support of this hypothesis are as follows: (1) that the bosses or raised surfaces of the
building blocks, within the draught, were not removed; (2) that the interior “Persian”
capitals are not well finished, and some have urged that the lions were only blocked
out; (3) the presence of a huge block of stone lying upon the slope about half way
between the building and the quarries.
It has been stated above that the relief portions of the blocks, within the draugh-
ting, were not left with rock faces, but were well finished, showing that it was not the
intention of the stone cutters to cut them away to the level of the draughts. The
interior capitals, as I have said, are not highly finished; they do not appear in the
form that they were to have had ultimately; but they may have been covered with
plates of beaten metal held in place by the irregular undercutting of the block forms,
and requiring no nails; for I observed no holes for nails. The lions, as they now
appear, look as if they had been only blocked out for detail carving; but the finding
of fragments that have chipped off, fragments of jaws, feet, and a shoulder with
the locks of a mane flowing over it, show that these figures were finished, and
have been reduced to their present state by the weather, and by intentional violence,
probably on the part of the early Muslims. There are other cases of the presence of
unused building stones in the neighborhood of great buildings: the great block in the
quarries bear Baalbek is an instance. The unused block at ‘Arak il-Emir, from its
dimensions, could have belonged only to the second course which was certainly com-
plete ; the block therefore must have been abandoned for other reasons. The high
finish of all the details which we extracted from the debris, the delicate carving upon
many of them, and the careful profiling of all mouldings, all seem to weigh against
the theory that the building was incomplete at the period of its abandonment. It is
not highly probable that the building, temple or other edifice, was occupied for many
centuries after the founding; for there is no trace of the Roman work, which is so
characteristic of neighboring ruins in Syria; yet the detail carving of the ruined gates
along the approach, and of other minor buildings in the vicinity, all of which are of
the same period as the great building, leads to the conclusion that the works under-
taken here were completed. FTthermore, the abundance of potsherds upon the various
levels shows that the place was occupied for a considerable period, by a population of
no small numbers.
Gate No. I. The principal gateway of the enclosure (Ill. 9) lies in ruins about
150 meters to the east of the north-east angle of the Kasr il-cAbd. It stood at the
end of a road extending north and south at the foot of the main terrace wall east of
the great building. Its southern face preserves, in situ, a number of courses which are
sufficient to give the width of the building itself and the opening in it; but the northern
face of the gateway is completely ruined, and its dilapidation is so complete that it
would be impossible to determine the depth of the gateway without removing a quantity
of massive building stones. It was not a difficult matter to reach the threshold on the
south side; the removal of a few fallen blocks and a little earth revealed the heights
of the lower courses and the sockets for swinging doors just within the opening. The
width of the doorway is 3.70 m., the width of the passage within the doorway is 4.16 m.;