DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.44946#0057
Khirbit il-Bardhon.
27
well preserved to make a satisfactory sketch of it possible. This lintel (Ill. 17), one
end of which is buried in the soil, was carved in low relief: an altar of the form
commonly found in Ammonitis (cf. altar found in ‘Amman Ill. 42) occupies the
middle of the lintel, and the sunken panel on the right is ornamented with a small
wreath unsymmetrically placed, and a disc adorned with six-pointed stars produced by
interlacing circles. The altar and the disc reproduce the forms of decoration found on
many lintels in Northern Syria. These forms of ornament almost certainly give to the
ruin a date earlier than the first appearance of Christian symbolism in Syrian art, yet
it is not possible to say whether the carving was executed before or after the beginning
of the Christian era; in other words, to say whether the work is of Roman date, or
belongs to an earlier, Greek period. There are no mouldings in the ruins, and the
kind of ornament shown on the lintel is not Roman in character, though it appears in
Northern Syria during the period of strongest Roman influence. It is not to be classed
with any of the ornament found at cArak il-Emir, yet it is native art, of a kind that
flourished for centuries in Syria, but how early its beginnings were, one cannot yet
determine. I incline to the belief that much of the native ornament that appears in
work of the Roman period in Syria was of great age, and had flourished through the
Seleukid period and, perhaps, for centuries before. If this theory be correct, the dating
of monuments by means of ornament of this character is rendered impossible within
several centuries. The problem of the purpose of this building is equally difficult of
solution. A building small, but splendidly built, divided into compartments, lighted by
loopholes and set upon a commanding point, with few other signs of man’s handiwork
near by, except tombs, would suggest a small castle, or perhaps a villa, in the midst
of this beautiful hill country. But the occurrence of isolated abodes in ancient times
in this region is rare, so far as my experience goes, and it is, of course, not impossible
that the building was not so isolated in ancient times as it appears today, for there
may have been a settlement of considerable importance in the valley below, where a
few modern dwellings now stand which appear to have been built, in part at least,
out of ancient materials.
Grotto. The cave is now used as a store house by a native, and is provided
with a crude front wall and a wooden door. In the absence of the owner I was unable
to see the interior, but was told by other natives that it contained a spring, and was
paved with mosaics. These statements were borne out by the presence of a minute
stream that trickled under the door, and by the finding of a large section of rather
coarse, white mosaic in front of the grotto. The foundations of two walls, which
projected from either side of the grotto, were easily traced (Ill. 18): between them was
the mosaic pavement, and between their ends were two column-bases with pedestals,
one in situ, the other slightly out of its original place. Near by were, a section of the
shaft of a column of 40 cm. diameter, a capital of unusual form, and a section of
architrave 2.20 m. long, 44 cm. high, and 38 cm. thick, or of about the same thickness
as the diameter of the capital at its bottom. The details are of debased classic form,
but without a suggestion of Christian origin. The pedestal is not unlike late third
century pedestals found in various places in Syria, the mouldings of the base, (a torus
below a flat cavetto), and the base of the shaft, without any apophyge, are all late
features. The foliate capital, rather tall and narrow, has no character that could aid
in fixino- its date. The architrave is adorned with a sunken panel above which is a
27
well preserved to make a satisfactory sketch of it possible. This lintel (Ill. 17), one
end of which is buried in the soil, was carved in low relief: an altar of the form
commonly found in Ammonitis (cf. altar found in ‘Amman Ill. 42) occupies the
middle of the lintel, and the sunken panel on the right is ornamented with a small
wreath unsymmetrically placed, and a disc adorned with six-pointed stars produced by
interlacing circles. The altar and the disc reproduce the forms of decoration found on
many lintels in Northern Syria. These forms of ornament almost certainly give to the
ruin a date earlier than the first appearance of Christian symbolism in Syrian art, yet
it is not possible to say whether the carving was executed before or after the beginning
of the Christian era; in other words, to say whether the work is of Roman date, or
belongs to an earlier, Greek period. There are no mouldings in the ruins, and the
kind of ornament shown on the lintel is not Roman in character, though it appears in
Northern Syria during the period of strongest Roman influence. It is not to be classed
with any of the ornament found at cArak il-Emir, yet it is native art, of a kind that
flourished for centuries in Syria, but how early its beginnings were, one cannot yet
determine. I incline to the belief that much of the native ornament that appears in
work of the Roman period in Syria was of great age, and had flourished through the
Seleukid period and, perhaps, for centuries before. If this theory be correct, the dating
of monuments by means of ornament of this character is rendered impossible within
several centuries. The problem of the purpose of this building is equally difficult of
solution. A building small, but splendidly built, divided into compartments, lighted by
loopholes and set upon a commanding point, with few other signs of man’s handiwork
near by, except tombs, would suggest a small castle, or perhaps a villa, in the midst
of this beautiful hill country. But the occurrence of isolated abodes in ancient times
in this region is rare, so far as my experience goes, and it is, of course, not impossible
that the building was not so isolated in ancient times as it appears today, for there
may have been a settlement of considerable importance in the valley below, where a
few modern dwellings now stand which appear to have been built, in part at least,
out of ancient materials.
Grotto. The cave is now used as a store house by a native, and is provided
with a crude front wall and a wooden door. In the absence of the owner I was unable
to see the interior, but was told by other natives that it contained a spring, and was
paved with mosaics. These statements were borne out by the presence of a minute
stream that trickled under the door, and by the finding of a large section of rather
coarse, white mosaic in front of the grotto. The foundations of two walls, which
projected from either side of the grotto, were easily traced (Ill. 18): between them was
the mosaic pavement, and between their ends were two column-bases with pedestals,
one in situ, the other slightly out of its original place. Near by were, a section of the
shaft of a column of 40 cm. diameter, a capital of unusual form, and a section of
architrave 2.20 m. long, 44 cm. high, and 38 cm. thick, or of about the same thickness
as the diameter of the capital at its bottom. The details are of debased classic form,
but without a suggestion of Christian origin. The pedestal is not unlike late third
century pedestals found in various places in Syria, the mouldings of the base, (a torus
below a flat cavetto), and the base of the shaft, without any apophyge, are all late
features. The foliate capital, rather tall and narrow, has no character that could aid
in fixino- its date. The architrave is adorned with a sunken panel above which is a