DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.45581#0064
I 12
II. A. 2. — Southern Hauran
mangers and the piers which separate them, the lintels above them, and the jambs
and lintels of all the doorways, are highly finished. The corbels of the main room are
handsomely finished and fitted with great care; the slabs of the intermediate floors and
the roofs, many of which are still in place, are all carefully dressed and fitted together;
some of these slabs are 2.20 m. long and 40 cm. wide, while the corbels project 65 cm.
It would be interesting to know if the family of the keeper of the horses and cattle
lived in this building. No places are offered for domestic use except the main room
and the rooms above the stables. Two of these upper rooms were poorly lighted and
one was quite dark, and, as I have said, they could be reached only by one stair or
by ladders from the main room. It seems most probable that the upper story was
required for storing the fodder for the animals, and that the main room would serve
better as a sheep-fold than a living room. This stable, like others in Subhiyeh, was
unquestionably the property of a man of wealth who lived in one of the villas which
make up the ruin. It is hardly probable that the stable was in any way combined
with living apartments, but is to be taken as an example of the higher class of build-
ing· erected for the housing of cattle or horses in the Southern Hauran.
Interesting, in connection with this building, are three inscriptions of this country;
one from Orman in the Southern Hauran, the other two from Shakka in the Djebel.
The first1 of these refers to a βουστάσιον and a τρίκλινος, the second2 mentions a στάβλον
περίκλινου, and the third 3 records the building of a στάβλον καί τους άυο τρίκλινους. The
buildings to which these inscriptions referred are in ruins; but it may be that this stable
in Subhiyeh, which is so well preserved, may throw some light upon the forms of the
buildings mentioned in the inscriptions. The word τρίκλινος, as applied to a part of a
house, is discussed at length in connection with the description of a house at Medjdel, 4
where an inscription containing the word was found in situ. Of the other terms it is
evident that βουστάσιου means simply cattle stalls, such as those found on three sides
of the main room in Ill. 88; στάβλον is, of course, simply a stable, i.e., the whole
building, probably; στάβλον περίκλινον I believe meant a stable having cattle stalls on
all sides of a large main room, and perhaps, by association, on three sides, like the
example here at Subhiyeh. The third expression, the στάβλον with άύο τρίκλινους is not
easily explained, unless we take the first word to mean the whole stable building, and
the second expression to have reference to two separate square rooms within it, each
having stalls on three sides; though τρίκλινος here, as elsewhere, may refer to upper
rooms in the building, as at Medjdel, cf. reference above.
32. SABHAH.
This is one of the larger ruins of the Southern Hauran ; it is now entirely deserted,
save for occasional and transient visits of Bedawin who pitch their tents beneath the
protection of its walls, and it has been much preyed upon of late, for building stones,
by the Druses of the mountain. The ancient town was well planned, with broad straight
streets and several open spaces, and it appears to have been almost entirely composed
of buildings of the better class. It presents a rather imposing skyline when seen from
1 Div. Ill, insc. 624. 2 Waddington 2161.
3 Prentice, A.A.E.S., III, insc. 377. Dussaud and Macler, V.A.S., p. 145, No. 4.
4 See under 42 Medjdel, p. 121, in this Part.
II. A. 2. — Southern Hauran
mangers and the piers which separate them, the lintels above them, and the jambs
and lintels of all the doorways, are highly finished. The corbels of the main room are
handsomely finished and fitted with great care; the slabs of the intermediate floors and
the roofs, many of which are still in place, are all carefully dressed and fitted together;
some of these slabs are 2.20 m. long and 40 cm. wide, while the corbels project 65 cm.
It would be interesting to know if the family of the keeper of the horses and cattle
lived in this building. No places are offered for domestic use except the main room
and the rooms above the stables. Two of these upper rooms were poorly lighted and
one was quite dark, and, as I have said, they could be reached only by one stair or
by ladders from the main room. It seems most probable that the upper story was
required for storing the fodder for the animals, and that the main room would serve
better as a sheep-fold than a living room. This stable, like others in Subhiyeh, was
unquestionably the property of a man of wealth who lived in one of the villas which
make up the ruin. It is hardly probable that the stable was in any way combined
with living apartments, but is to be taken as an example of the higher class of build-
ing· erected for the housing of cattle or horses in the Southern Hauran.
Interesting, in connection with this building, are three inscriptions of this country;
one from Orman in the Southern Hauran, the other two from Shakka in the Djebel.
The first1 of these refers to a βουστάσιον and a τρίκλινος, the second2 mentions a στάβλον
περίκλινου, and the third 3 records the building of a στάβλον καί τους άυο τρίκλινους. The
buildings to which these inscriptions referred are in ruins; but it may be that this stable
in Subhiyeh, which is so well preserved, may throw some light upon the forms of the
buildings mentioned in the inscriptions. The word τρίκλινος, as applied to a part of a
house, is discussed at length in connection with the description of a house at Medjdel, 4
where an inscription containing the word was found in situ. Of the other terms it is
evident that βουστάσιου means simply cattle stalls, such as those found on three sides
of the main room in Ill. 88; στάβλον is, of course, simply a stable, i.e., the whole
building, probably; στάβλον περίκλινον I believe meant a stable having cattle stalls on
all sides of a large main room, and perhaps, by association, on three sides, like the
example here at Subhiyeh. The third expression, the στάβλον with άύο τρίκλινους is not
easily explained, unless we take the first word to mean the whole stable building, and
the second expression to have reference to two separate square rooms within it, each
having stalls on three sides; though τρίκλινος here, as elsewhere, may refer to upper
rooms in the building, as at Medjdel, cf. reference above.
32. SABHAH.
This is one of the larger ruins of the Southern Hauran ; it is now entirely deserted,
save for occasional and transient visits of Bedawin who pitch their tents beneath the
protection of its walls, and it has been much preyed upon of late, for building stones,
by the Druses of the mountain. The ancient town was well planned, with broad straight
streets and several open spaces, and it appears to have been almost entirely composed
of buildings of the better class. It presents a rather imposing skyline when seen from
1 Div. Ill, insc. 624. 2 Waddington 2161.
3 Prentice, A.A.E.S., III, insc. 377. Dussaud and Macler, V.A.S., p. 145, No. 4.
4 See under 42 Medjdel, p. 121, in this Part.