DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.45605#0035
282
Division II Section B Part 6
In the preparation of the restorations given in Plate XXIV, in which I was ably
assisted by Mr. Edwin A. Park, I made extensive use of the heights given in detail
by M. de Vogue in a drawing on page 144 (Fig. 43) of La Syrie Centrale. these
measurements, given in ancient feet and palms, when reduced to metres according to
the ratio mentioned by M. de Vogue on page 25, i. e. 0.308 m. to the foot, agree
with all the measurements of heights which I made on the spot. But there were a
few other measurements, such as the intercolumniation shown in Fig. 43 of La Syrie
Centrale, which I was unable to harmonize either with the ground plan given by M.
de Vogue or with my own measurements. This intercolumniation, which corresponds
to 3.69 m., is somewhat too wide to allow seven bays in each of the three short arms
of the church, and entirely too wide to allow ten bays of the same width in the longer
eastern basilica. There are no arcade columns in place here to-day, but it is quite
plain that not all the intercolumniations were equal; and those of other churches in
which the arcades are preserved also show considerable irregularity in this regard.
According to my figures, the intercolumniations of all four churches were a little under
3.50 m., and this would give nine bays to the eastern basilica, and seven to each of
the other basilicas.
The restoration of details that are no longer in place is derived from two sources,
one found in details that are still lying in the ruins, the other in analogies with other
buildings in Syria in which such details are in place, or from combinations of these two
sources. Thus, for instance, the gable ends of the basilicas are restored in part from
details lying among the ruins, and partly from gables in the neighbourhood which are
still preserved. The longitudinal section (Pl. XXIV, Section A-B) shows the western
and the eastern basilicas, and the octagonal court with the base of Saint Simeon’s pillar,
a rock-hewn foundation, in the middle. Hardly a single detail of this section is entirely
conjectural. The measured drawing of M. de Vogue (S. C. Fig. 43) furnishes the
heights of the columns and of the wall above them, my measurements give the inter-
columniations in both basilicas, and the debris furnishes the actual forms of the details.
Nearly one half of the north wall of the western basilica is standing; and the whole
of the north wall of the eastern basilica, together with the apse, is perfectly preserved.
It will be observed that the east ends of the aisle walls of the eastern basilica, cor-
responding to two bays of the nave, are higher by a single course than the rest of the
walls. This extra height was a necessity in connexion with the side chambers H and
K which joined on to the walls on either side, and caused a break in the aisle roofs.
The only details of the octagonal court which are conjectured are the gable ends, and
these only partly so. All the arches shown here are standing, the brackets which
carried the colonettes in the angles are in place, and the colonettes themselves were
found in fragments. The corbels of the great cornice are some of them still in place,
and many blocks of the cornice itself, with their conchas, were found in the ruins, as
were also blocks from the raking; cornice of the gable. It seems certain that the four
cardinal sides of the octagon were provided with gables which represented the ends of
the roofs of the four basilicas, and that the oblique sides terminated in straight cornices.
The other section (C-D) shown in Plate XXIV is drawn almost entirely from extant
remains. The columns and the gable are of course restored. The wall above the
right-hand apsis is complete, and the corresponding wall on the left is restored from it.
These are merely screen walls terminating at the top in a cornice which is moulded
Division II Section B Part 6
In the preparation of the restorations given in Plate XXIV, in which I was ably
assisted by Mr. Edwin A. Park, I made extensive use of the heights given in detail
by M. de Vogue in a drawing on page 144 (Fig. 43) of La Syrie Centrale. these
measurements, given in ancient feet and palms, when reduced to metres according to
the ratio mentioned by M. de Vogue on page 25, i. e. 0.308 m. to the foot, agree
with all the measurements of heights which I made on the spot. But there were a
few other measurements, such as the intercolumniation shown in Fig. 43 of La Syrie
Centrale, which I was unable to harmonize either with the ground plan given by M.
de Vogue or with my own measurements. This intercolumniation, which corresponds
to 3.69 m., is somewhat too wide to allow seven bays in each of the three short arms
of the church, and entirely too wide to allow ten bays of the same width in the longer
eastern basilica. There are no arcade columns in place here to-day, but it is quite
plain that not all the intercolumniations were equal; and those of other churches in
which the arcades are preserved also show considerable irregularity in this regard.
According to my figures, the intercolumniations of all four churches were a little under
3.50 m., and this would give nine bays to the eastern basilica, and seven to each of
the other basilicas.
The restoration of details that are no longer in place is derived from two sources,
one found in details that are still lying in the ruins, the other in analogies with other
buildings in Syria in which such details are in place, or from combinations of these two
sources. Thus, for instance, the gable ends of the basilicas are restored in part from
details lying among the ruins, and partly from gables in the neighbourhood which are
still preserved. The longitudinal section (Pl. XXIV, Section A-B) shows the western
and the eastern basilicas, and the octagonal court with the base of Saint Simeon’s pillar,
a rock-hewn foundation, in the middle. Hardly a single detail of this section is entirely
conjectural. The measured drawing of M. de Vogue (S. C. Fig. 43) furnishes the
heights of the columns and of the wall above them, my measurements give the inter-
columniations in both basilicas, and the debris furnishes the actual forms of the details.
Nearly one half of the north wall of the western basilica is standing; and the whole
of the north wall of the eastern basilica, together with the apse, is perfectly preserved.
It will be observed that the east ends of the aisle walls of the eastern basilica, cor-
responding to two bays of the nave, are higher by a single course than the rest of the
walls. This extra height was a necessity in connexion with the side chambers H and
K which joined on to the walls on either side, and caused a break in the aisle roofs.
The only details of the octagonal court which are conjectured are the gable ends, and
these only partly so. All the arches shown here are standing, the brackets which
carried the colonettes in the angles are in place, and the colonettes themselves were
found in fragments. The corbels of the great cornice are some of them still in place,
and many blocks of the cornice itself, with their conchas, were found in the ruins, as
were also blocks from the raking; cornice of the gable. It seems certain that the four
cardinal sides of the octagon were provided with gables which represented the ends of
the roofs of the four basilicas, and that the oblique sides terminated in straight cornices.
The other section (C-D) shown in Plate XXIV is drawn almost entirely from extant
remains. The columns and the gable are of course restored. The wall above the
right-hand apsis is complete, and the corresponding wall on the left is restored from it.
These are merely screen walls terminating at the top in a cornice which is moulded