DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.44946#0063
4. KHIRBIT SAR.
•ARCH·
•KHIRBIT SAR·
Ill. 21.
are partly visible in
u
IF
Toward the east
walls of the building are prolonged in masonry of
different character, to form a sort of courtyard, the
of which is buried in soil and debris. These side
about two meters thick, are constructed of highly
At the very top of the mountain range between the Wadi is-Sir and the Wadi
Amman, with a wonderful view of the mountains west of Jordan on one side, and of
the apparently limitless desert on the other, is a large ruin, parts of which are of
undoubted antiquity. The remains consist of a high wall forming a square of about
20 meters, built, in rather crude fashion, of huge rough blocks of the flint conglomerate
peculiar to the country, and surrounded by a mass of broken and half buried walls of
rude workmanship and of various ages, from a period of
considerable antiquity to a comparatively late Mohammedan
date. These ruins are described by Captain Conder1 under
the name of Khurbet Sar.
■i°
The north, west and south walls of the square building ffig|
(111. 21) are preserved to a height of from three to four meters;
only the ends of the east wall, where the entrance must have
been, are standing. Within the building are four large column¬
bases of good classic form, not in situ, and fragments of
column-drums, capitals and other details.
the side
a wholly
east end
walls are
finished quadrated masonry, and contain a row of arcosolia,
i.6om. long and 1.15 m. wide, on either side; fourteen of these
the ruins, seven on the north and seven on the south. The archivolts of the arcosolia
have mouldings of rather late Roman profile. The sarcophagi under the arches contain
ancient bones that have been quite recently disturbed by the Circassians who have
destroyed the building. The original purpose of the building cannot be precisely
demonstrated. It is apparent that the square building, with its crude and massive
walls, represents a structure of great antiquity, probably a shrine, which' was renovated
or restored by builders of the Roman period, by the introduction of classic columns
and an entablature on the interior. The arcosolia are manifestly late, judging by the
profile of their mouldings, yet not Christian, if the absence of Christian symbols may
be regarded as evidence. This site has been identified by Dr. Merrill2 and others
with ancient Jazer mentioned in Numbers, XXXII, 1.
1 Survey of Eastern Palestine^ p. 153.
2 East of Jordan^ pp. 404, 484.
Publications of the Princeton University Archaeological Expedition to Syria, Div. II, Sec. A, Pt. 1.
5
•ARCH·
•KHIRBIT SAR·
Ill. 21.
are partly visible in
u
IF
Toward the east
walls of the building are prolonged in masonry of
different character, to form a sort of courtyard, the
of which is buried in soil and debris. These side
about two meters thick, are constructed of highly
At the very top of the mountain range between the Wadi is-Sir and the Wadi
Amman, with a wonderful view of the mountains west of Jordan on one side, and of
the apparently limitless desert on the other, is a large ruin, parts of which are of
undoubted antiquity. The remains consist of a high wall forming a square of about
20 meters, built, in rather crude fashion, of huge rough blocks of the flint conglomerate
peculiar to the country, and surrounded by a mass of broken and half buried walls of
rude workmanship and of various ages, from a period of
considerable antiquity to a comparatively late Mohammedan
date. These ruins are described by Captain Conder1 under
the name of Khurbet Sar.
■i°
The north, west and south walls of the square building ffig|
(111. 21) are preserved to a height of from three to four meters;
only the ends of the east wall, where the entrance must have
been, are standing. Within the building are four large column¬
bases of good classic form, not in situ, and fragments of
column-drums, capitals and other details.
the side
a wholly
east end
walls are
finished quadrated masonry, and contain a row of arcosolia,
i.6om. long and 1.15 m. wide, on either side; fourteen of these
the ruins, seven on the north and seven on the south. The archivolts of the arcosolia
have mouldings of rather late Roman profile. The sarcophagi under the arches contain
ancient bones that have been quite recently disturbed by the Circassians who have
destroyed the building. The original purpose of the building cannot be precisely
demonstrated. It is apparent that the square building, with its crude and massive
walls, represents a structure of great antiquity, probably a shrine, which' was renovated
or restored by builders of the Roman period, by the introduction of classic columns
and an entablature on the interior. The arcosolia are manifestly late, judging by the
profile of their mouldings, yet not Christian, if the absence of Christian symbols may
be regarded as evidence. This site has been identified by Dr. Merrill2 and others
with ancient Jazer mentioned in Numbers, XXXII, 1.
1 Survey of Eastern Palestine^ p. 153.
2 East of Jordan^ pp. 404, 484.
Publications of the Princeton University Archaeological Expedition to Syria, Div. II, Sec. A, Pt. 1.
5