DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.44946#0055
cArak il-Emir.
25
above the
an oblong
the upper
From the
There is every indication that the caves were made to be lived in by men of a higher
state of civilization than ordinary cave-dwellers, and for the accommodation of domestic
animals. There is no evidence that they were used as places of burial; for they are
without niches, arcosolia and sarcophagi, all the details, in fact, that distinguish the
rock-hewn tombs of Syria from rock-hewn stables, presses and other places of domestic
utility. That they afforded a safe retreat, and provided defense for their occupants, as
described by Josephus, is very plain, and yet there were costly buildings in the region
below the cliffs that were absolutely unprotected, so that it seems rater incongruous to
think of the settlers of Tyros entrenching themselves and their domestic animals in well
defended and almost inaccessible caves, and, at the same time, erecting magnificent
structures, and laying out extensive parks which were to be left open to the attacks
of any enemy that happened to pass that way.
The aqueduct. As has been pointed out above, the remains of an aqueduct may
be traced, with a few breaks, from the edge of the high terrace just above the north-
east shore of the lake to a point far up in the valley of the Wadi is-Sir, where the bed
of the stream is considerably higher than the highest part of the buildings at cArak il-
Emir, and higher even than the caves. At its lower levels this aqueduct appears in a
series of stone conduits which lie in a line along the edge of the terrace
lake, extending north and south. Each section of the conduit consists of
stone, 1 m. to 1.50 m. in length, about 50 cm. wide and 40 cm. thick. In
face of each stone is cut a semi-cylindrical channel of about 30 cm. diameter.
angle formed by the north and east terraces, the aqueduct may be traced by the
appearance of occasional sections of the conduit in a northeasterly direction toward the
cliff. Along the base of the cliff the stone conduit is hidden; but its place is taken
by a crude aqueduct of modern construction which still carries water at certain seasons.
The modern aqueduct joins the ancient conduit just beyond the end of the artificially
scarped cliff. The ancient conduit here takes the form of an open channel cut in the
natural rock, or of short borings through projecting points of rock. This rock-hewn
channel is continued in the valley af the wadi, where it is cut out of the rock on the
left bank of the stream as one ascends. At first, as one would expect, it runs high
above the bed of the stream, but both ascend gradually to the same level far up the
valley. At several points the aqueduct has been renewed and its course has unques-
tionably been altered at points, from time to time; for it has been in use for centuries
and is still frequently employed.
Among the references to cArak il-Emir, in addition to those already cited, may be mentioned the following; Tristram,
Land of Israel, 1863. Due de Luynes, Voyage d'Exploration a la Mer Morte, 1864; Vol. Ill, Pls. 30—33. Warren, Q. S.
’69—’70 (I) 284—306. Northey, Q. S. ’72, 57—72. Merrill, Q. S. ’76, 47—55. Thomson, Land and Book, pp. 598—99.
Oliphant, Land of Gilead, 280. Heber-Percy; Moab Ammon and Gilead, 51, 55. De Strange Q. S., ’85, 157—180. Post, Q. S.
’88, 175—209. Sejourne, R. B. ’93 (II) 119—144, and ’94 (III) 615—627. Robinson Lees, Geographical Journal, ’95, V.
No. I. 1—26. Gautier, Ατι dela du Jordain, pp. 57—61. Frank, M. N. D. P. V. ’96 (II), 33—40. Hill, Q. S. ’96, 24 46.
Sykes, Q. S. ’99, 47—56. Dalman, Μ. N. D. P. V. ’00, 21—29.
Publications of the Princeton University Archaeological Expedition to Syiia, Div. II, Sec. A, Pt. 1.
4
25
above the
an oblong
the upper
From the
There is every indication that the caves were made to be lived in by men of a higher
state of civilization than ordinary cave-dwellers, and for the accommodation of domestic
animals. There is no evidence that they were used as places of burial; for they are
without niches, arcosolia and sarcophagi, all the details, in fact, that distinguish the
rock-hewn tombs of Syria from rock-hewn stables, presses and other places of domestic
utility. That they afforded a safe retreat, and provided defense for their occupants, as
described by Josephus, is very plain, and yet there were costly buildings in the region
below the cliffs that were absolutely unprotected, so that it seems rater incongruous to
think of the settlers of Tyros entrenching themselves and their domestic animals in well
defended and almost inaccessible caves, and, at the same time, erecting magnificent
structures, and laying out extensive parks which were to be left open to the attacks
of any enemy that happened to pass that way.
The aqueduct. As has been pointed out above, the remains of an aqueduct may
be traced, with a few breaks, from the edge of the high terrace just above the north-
east shore of the lake to a point far up in the valley of the Wadi is-Sir, where the bed
of the stream is considerably higher than the highest part of the buildings at cArak il-
Emir, and higher even than the caves. At its lower levels this aqueduct appears in a
series of stone conduits which lie in a line along the edge of the terrace
lake, extending north and south. Each section of the conduit consists of
stone, 1 m. to 1.50 m. in length, about 50 cm. wide and 40 cm. thick. In
face of each stone is cut a semi-cylindrical channel of about 30 cm. diameter.
angle formed by the north and east terraces, the aqueduct may be traced by the
appearance of occasional sections of the conduit in a northeasterly direction toward the
cliff. Along the base of the cliff the stone conduit is hidden; but its place is taken
by a crude aqueduct of modern construction which still carries water at certain seasons.
The modern aqueduct joins the ancient conduit just beyond the end of the artificially
scarped cliff. The ancient conduit here takes the form of an open channel cut in the
natural rock, or of short borings through projecting points of rock. This rock-hewn
channel is continued in the valley af the wadi, where it is cut out of the rock on the
left bank of the stream as one ascends. At first, as one would expect, it runs high
above the bed of the stream, but both ascend gradually to the same level far up the
valley. At several points the aqueduct has been renewed and its course has unques-
tionably been altered at points, from time to time; for it has been in use for centuries
and is still frequently employed.
Among the references to cArak il-Emir, in addition to those already cited, may be mentioned the following; Tristram,
Land of Israel, 1863. Due de Luynes, Voyage d'Exploration a la Mer Morte, 1864; Vol. Ill, Pls. 30—33. Warren, Q. S.
’69—’70 (I) 284—306. Northey, Q. S. ’72, 57—72. Merrill, Q. S. ’76, 47—55. Thomson, Land and Book, pp. 598—99.
Oliphant, Land of Gilead, 280. Heber-Percy; Moab Ammon and Gilead, 51, 55. De Strange Q. S., ’85, 157—180. Post, Q. S.
’88, 175—209. Sejourne, R. B. ’93 (II) 119—144, and ’94 (III) 615—627. Robinson Lees, Geographical Journal, ’95, V.
No. I. 1—26. Gautier, Ατι dela du Jordain, pp. 57—61. Frank, M. N. D. P. V. ’96 (II), 33—40. Hill, Q. S. ’96, 24 46.
Sykes, Q. S. ’99, 47—56. Dalman, Μ. N. D. P. V. ’00, 21—29.
Publications of the Princeton University Archaeological Expedition to Syiia, Div. II, Sec. A, Pt. 1.
4