DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.45601#0022
Serdjilla
117
was cut in the south wall in early Mohammedan times. From this building a wall ran
obliquely to the southwest angle of the church closing the west side of an irregular court.
Upon this ground plan, with the aid of the portions that are still standing, and
by a careful observation of the fallen details, it is not difficult to make a complete
restoration of the superstructure (Pl. XII). The standing portion of the apse wall, and
the half column at the east end of the south arcade 1) give the necessary heights of
the lower portions; while the walls of the diaconicum, preserved up to their gables,
furnish the upper heights. Some of the voussoirs of the apse arch were employed by
the Moslem builders of the mihrab in the south building; the bands of the arch
mouldings 3 are inscribed, but we were not so fortunate as to find the whole inscription.
A row of holes in the wall of the diaconicum gives the slope of the aisle roof, a
number of short lintels give the width of the clearstory windows and show that they
were flat topped. Details for the restoration of the main arcade are supplied by a
number of bases and capitals of the columns, and by several arcuated lintels that lie
in the nave. These details are shown on large scale in Ill. 132. The capitals are
of a plain Doric form, though the caps of the responds on either side of the apse are
richly carved in the Corinthian order, with a cross, in place of the fleuron, in the middle
of the abacus. The arcuated lintels are of precisely the same form as those which
are still standing in the ruins of a church near Bab il-Hawa. 3 Each lintel is cut with
a segment, the other segments of the semi-circle being cut in blocks that served for
two arches (see detail in Ill. 132). These were set upon cubical impost blocks which
stilted the arches to a height of about 50 cm. Low colonnades extended along the
north and south walls of the church; these are lying in ruins. The buildings about
the court are well preserved (Ill. 133), and the iris and asphodel, blooming luxuriantly
within the enclosure late in March, relieved the feeling of desolation which these ruins
usually produce. A portico of two small columns carrying a gabled hood, stood be-
fore the entrance to the slype, and a colonnade was carried along the wall of the large
building on the south side of the court. The entrance to the mortuary chapel was
placed at the end of this colonnade. The large three-aisled building has an entrance
on the west, outside of the court, in addition to that upon the colonnade. Its west
wall is completely preserved to the peak of its gable. Arcuated lintels and plain Doric
capitals, lying in the interior, show that the arcades were similar to those of the church.
It is not possible to determine the use of this building. It is hardly probable that
the group of buildings constituted a monastery, for the reason that there are no resi-
dential buildings. For this reason it does not seem likely that the large building was
a refectory or a chapter house, and there are no tombs visible within it. Excavations
in the floor might reveal a font; but if this were discovered, we should have one of
the largest baptisteries in the region connected with one of the smallest churches. The
roofing of most of these buildings is determined from the position of gables, either in
place or fallen, only the form of the roof of the north transept, with its chancel arch
and presbyterium, is conjectured. The floor of the nave of the church was paved with
mosaic, as was also the floor of the mortuary chapel, as we found by the discovery
of a quantity of small tesserae.
The presence of the mortuary chapel, and of other places of burial about the
1 Cf. photograph, A.A.E.S. p. 95.
2 A.A.E.S. Ill, insc. 218.
3 A.A.E.S. II p. 25.
117
was cut in the south wall in early Mohammedan times. From this building a wall ran
obliquely to the southwest angle of the church closing the west side of an irregular court.
Upon this ground plan, with the aid of the portions that are still standing, and
by a careful observation of the fallen details, it is not difficult to make a complete
restoration of the superstructure (Pl. XII). The standing portion of the apse wall, and
the half column at the east end of the south arcade 1) give the necessary heights of
the lower portions; while the walls of the diaconicum, preserved up to their gables,
furnish the upper heights. Some of the voussoirs of the apse arch were employed by
the Moslem builders of the mihrab in the south building; the bands of the arch
mouldings 3 are inscribed, but we were not so fortunate as to find the whole inscription.
A row of holes in the wall of the diaconicum gives the slope of the aisle roof, a
number of short lintels give the width of the clearstory windows and show that they
were flat topped. Details for the restoration of the main arcade are supplied by a
number of bases and capitals of the columns, and by several arcuated lintels that lie
in the nave. These details are shown on large scale in Ill. 132. The capitals are
of a plain Doric form, though the caps of the responds on either side of the apse are
richly carved in the Corinthian order, with a cross, in place of the fleuron, in the middle
of the abacus. The arcuated lintels are of precisely the same form as those which
are still standing in the ruins of a church near Bab il-Hawa. 3 Each lintel is cut with
a segment, the other segments of the semi-circle being cut in blocks that served for
two arches (see detail in Ill. 132). These were set upon cubical impost blocks which
stilted the arches to a height of about 50 cm. Low colonnades extended along the
north and south walls of the church; these are lying in ruins. The buildings about
the court are well preserved (Ill. 133), and the iris and asphodel, blooming luxuriantly
within the enclosure late in March, relieved the feeling of desolation which these ruins
usually produce. A portico of two small columns carrying a gabled hood, stood be-
fore the entrance to the slype, and a colonnade was carried along the wall of the large
building on the south side of the court. The entrance to the mortuary chapel was
placed at the end of this colonnade. The large three-aisled building has an entrance
on the west, outside of the court, in addition to that upon the colonnade. Its west
wall is completely preserved to the peak of its gable. Arcuated lintels and plain Doric
capitals, lying in the interior, show that the arcades were similar to those of the church.
It is not possible to determine the use of this building. It is hardly probable that
the group of buildings constituted a monastery, for the reason that there are no resi-
dential buildings. For this reason it does not seem likely that the large building was
a refectory or a chapter house, and there are no tombs visible within it. Excavations
in the floor might reveal a font; but if this were discovered, we should have one of
the largest baptisteries in the region connected with one of the smallest churches. The
roofing of most of these buildings is determined from the position of gables, either in
place or fallen, only the form of the roof of the north transept, with its chancel arch
and presbyterium, is conjectured. The floor of the nave of the church was paved with
mosaic, as was also the floor of the mortuary chapel, as we found by the discovery
of a quantity of small tesserae.
The presence of the mortuary chapel, and of other places of burial about the
1 Cf. photograph, A.A.E.S. p. 95.
2 A.A.E.S. Ill, insc. 218.
3 A.A.E.S. II p. 25.