DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.45598#0046
82
II. B. 2.
belong to the same epoch, and the later inscription (D) was probably carved on an
old lintel by a later generation. A great variety of ornamental details was found in
the ruins of these two houses. The capitals of the colonnades (Ill. 89, A and B) pre-
sent more refined forms than are commonly found in Kerratin; their forms are Oriental
adaptations of the Tuscan and Ionic orders. The architraves present a variety of
combinations, some of which are like fourth-century architraves in the region to the
northwest; but it is not always possible to know which belonged to the lower and
which to the upper colonnades. The arch (C) of the vestibule of No. 7 and the lintel
of the doorway within, both of which are shown in the drawing (Ill. 89), are examples
of the most elaborate carving found in Kerratin. The interlaces that appear on the
outer arch and the pier-caps are repeated in some of the girder-arches of the larger
apartments. The mouldings are of strong profiles; the surface carving of the lintel and
arch, though flat, is executed with admirable care and precision, as are the details of
the capitals and other ornament. It is quite apparent that all these details of ornament
were covered with a thin coating of cement, and it is not impossible that the patterns
were picked out in colours. The candlesticks that appear in relief upon the middle
drums of several of the columns of these two houses, two of which are shown in Ill. 89,
are of unusual forms and Of considerable grace and elegance. Like almost all other
examples of these candlesticks, they have the general form of a torch ; but the standard
at the bottom of the torch is not, apparently, a device for holding the torch in place
against a perpendicular surface; but represents a four-legged base which supported the
metal original upon a horizontal surface. In other words, it seems to me that these
ornamental brackets for the support of lamps, executed in high relief upon the shafts
of columns, were copied from tall standard lamps in bronze or other metal in common
use in Central Syria.
House No. 8. This plan (Ill. 90) is presented here merely because it differs
slightly in arrangement from any of the fore-
going. It is not dated by an inscription ; but
its details would place it not far from the
middle of the fourth century. Five apartments
occupy the north side of the court; these include
the vestibule at the east end. The room on
the west end is made larger than the others
by bringing its front wall forward to the line
of the colonnade: the interior is then spanned
by two arches, one in line with the other girder-
arches, and one in line with the front wall of
the other rooms. Narrow apartments, — stables
and other dependencies — occupy the opposite
side of the court. This house, perhaps as well
as any in the ruins of Kerratin, shows the
extent and the limits of the knowledge of arch construction possessed by the builders
of this region. It will be seen how carefully the arches were aligned, the lower and
narrower arches often being placed at the ends; how thrust was met by counter-thrust,
how walls were made to act as abutments to arches; but the buttress, as such, was
not called into requisition. Had these builders erected some sort of exterior buttresses
111. 90.
II. B. 2.
belong to the same epoch, and the later inscription (D) was probably carved on an
old lintel by a later generation. A great variety of ornamental details was found in
the ruins of these two houses. The capitals of the colonnades (Ill. 89, A and B) pre-
sent more refined forms than are commonly found in Kerratin; their forms are Oriental
adaptations of the Tuscan and Ionic orders. The architraves present a variety of
combinations, some of which are like fourth-century architraves in the region to the
northwest; but it is not always possible to know which belonged to the lower and
which to the upper colonnades. The arch (C) of the vestibule of No. 7 and the lintel
of the doorway within, both of which are shown in the drawing (Ill. 89), are examples
of the most elaborate carving found in Kerratin. The interlaces that appear on the
outer arch and the pier-caps are repeated in some of the girder-arches of the larger
apartments. The mouldings are of strong profiles; the surface carving of the lintel and
arch, though flat, is executed with admirable care and precision, as are the details of
the capitals and other ornament. It is quite apparent that all these details of ornament
were covered with a thin coating of cement, and it is not impossible that the patterns
were picked out in colours. The candlesticks that appear in relief upon the middle
drums of several of the columns of these two houses, two of which are shown in Ill. 89,
are of unusual forms and Of considerable grace and elegance. Like almost all other
examples of these candlesticks, they have the general form of a torch ; but the standard
at the bottom of the torch is not, apparently, a device for holding the torch in place
against a perpendicular surface; but represents a four-legged base which supported the
metal original upon a horizontal surface. In other words, it seems to me that these
ornamental brackets for the support of lamps, executed in high relief upon the shafts
of columns, were copied from tall standard lamps in bronze or other metal in common
use in Central Syria.
House No. 8. This plan (Ill. 90) is presented here merely because it differs
slightly in arrangement from any of the fore-
going. It is not dated by an inscription ; but
its details would place it not far from the
middle of the fourth century. Five apartments
occupy the north side of the court; these include
the vestibule at the east end. The room on
the west end is made larger than the others
by bringing its front wall forward to the line
of the colonnade: the interior is then spanned
by two arches, one in line with the other girder-
arches, and one in line with the front wall of
the other rooms. Narrow apartments, — stables
and other dependencies — occupy the opposite
side of the court. This house, perhaps as well
as any in the ruins of Kerratin, shows the
extent and the limits of the knowledge of arch construction possessed by the builders
of this region. It will be seen how carefully the arches were aligned, the lower and
narrower arches often being placed at the ends; how thrust was met by counter-thrust,
how walls were made to act as abutments to arches; but the buttress, as such, was
not called into requisition. Had these builders erected some sort of exterior buttresses
111. 90.