DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.45581#0060
II. A. 2. ■—- Southern Hauran
108
24. SIMDJ.
Ill. 85.
Ill. 87.
ruins of a
although
struction
east angle of the town the
o
small chapel (Ill. 85) are still to be recognized,
every dressed stone that was used in its con-
has been carried away.
’IVMAIS-SNENEH-
CHAPEL·
Church.
and directly
smaller apses, 4.50 m. wide (Ill. 86). The central apse projects beyond the others and
is enclosed is straight walls. The width of these apses is about 20 m., and I have
no doubt that the nave of the church extended as far as the front of the temple, and
that the temple, rebuilt or altered, served as some sort of a religious building in Christian
times after the building of the church. The church, it may be remarked, is perhaps
Smidj is a small modern village built upon the site,
and out of the ruins, of an ancient town. Little of the
old town is to be seen today, saving a few walls, an arch
or two, and one building like a broad low tower, which seems to have been used for
defence, and slightly altered by
the village, not more than five
ruins of an ancient temple and a
Temple. The west, or rear,
Moslems of the mediaeval period. Directly east of
minutes walk, is a group of houses built about the
convent. This group of buildings is called Der Simdj.
wall, 9.60 m. long, together with 3 m. of north wall
and 4.20 m. of south wall, of a building in the finest type
of finished ashlar are preserved up to the cornice. The
building is pieced out to a square in coarse masonry which
probably stands upon older foundations. In the east wall
the jambs of a richly carved doorway have been inserted.
This square building was in all probability a temple (Ill. 86),
and it appears to have belonged to the Nabataean period.
The walls of highly finished masonry are built of large
blocks laid dry. The joints are very true, and the finish
is perfect. The moulding which crowns the wall is in
profile a graceful and salient cyma recta (Ill. 87). Its
angles are ornamented with leaves which follow the curve
of the moulding. The jambs of the
portal consist of a plain fascia, and a
very shallow cavetto carved with a
grape-vine, and a flat member carved
with a meander in relief, with spaces
in the fret filled with designs (Ill. 87),
a double axe, a scroll, etc. The cha¬
racter of the masonry, the profile of
the cornice, the leaf at the angle of
the cornice, and especially the orna¬
ment of the portal, class this building
with the Nabataean temples and other
structures at Sf.
East of the temple about 30 m. distant,
on axis with it, are the ruins of an apse nearly 8 m. wide, flanked by
108
24. SIMDJ.
Ill. 85.
Ill. 87.
ruins of a
although
struction
east angle of the town the
o
small chapel (Ill. 85) are still to be recognized,
every dressed stone that was used in its con-
has been carried away.
’IVMAIS-SNENEH-
CHAPEL·
Church.
and directly
smaller apses, 4.50 m. wide (Ill. 86). The central apse projects beyond the others and
is enclosed is straight walls. The width of these apses is about 20 m., and I have
no doubt that the nave of the church extended as far as the front of the temple, and
that the temple, rebuilt or altered, served as some sort of a religious building in Christian
times after the building of the church. The church, it may be remarked, is perhaps
Smidj is a small modern village built upon the site,
and out of the ruins, of an ancient town. Little of the
old town is to be seen today, saving a few walls, an arch
or two, and one building like a broad low tower, which seems to have been used for
defence, and slightly altered by
the village, not more than five
ruins of an ancient temple and a
Temple. The west, or rear,
Moslems of the mediaeval period. Directly east of
minutes walk, is a group of houses built about the
convent. This group of buildings is called Der Simdj.
wall, 9.60 m. long, together with 3 m. of north wall
and 4.20 m. of south wall, of a building in the finest type
of finished ashlar are preserved up to the cornice. The
building is pieced out to a square in coarse masonry which
probably stands upon older foundations. In the east wall
the jambs of a richly carved doorway have been inserted.
This square building was in all probability a temple (Ill. 86),
and it appears to have belonged to the Nabataean period.
The walls of highly finished masonry are built of large
blocks laid dry. The joints are very true, and the finish
is perfect. The moulding which crowns the wall is in
profile a graceful and salient cyma recta (Ill. 87). Its
angles are ornamented with leaves which follow the curve
of the moulding. The jambs of the
portal consist of a plain fascia, and a
very shallow cavetto carved with a
grape-vine, and a flat member carved
with a meander in relief, with spaces
in the fret filled with designs (Ill. 87),
a double axe, a scroll, etc. The cha¬
racter of the masonry, the profile of
the cornice, the leaf at the angle of
the cornice, and especially the orna¬
ment of the portal, class this building
with the Nabataean temples and other
structures at Sf.
East of the temple about 30 m. distant,
on axis with it, are the ruins of an apse nearly 8 m. wide, flanked by