33 Items
Dar Qita
The Church of SS. Paul and Moses is an early C5th building in the village of Dar Qita on the plain near the contemporary Syrian-Turkish border. It has been used for stabling animals and a significant amount of stone has been stolen from the site.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bema, C5th, Church, Dar Qita, Jebel Barisha, Limestone Massif, St. Moses, St. Paul, Syria
Qirq Bizeh
Qirq Bizeh is the name of a small abandoned settlement to the north of Qalb Lozeh. A C2nd villa was converted into a church in the C4th or C5th and retains the internal liturgical fittings that clearly identify the ritual use of the building. It is very small, but houses a bema and has a raised platform at the east end that is divided from the rest of the chamber by a chancel screen. There is also evidence of reliquary chambers in the screen and small reliquary caskets elsewhere. The bema retains its 'throne' or pulpit and the ritual use of the house extends to the courtyard where extensive cisterns seem to have housed water or olive oil in antiquity.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bema, C4th, Jebel Il'Ala, Limestone Massif, Martyrium, Pulpit, Qirq Bizeh, Reliquary, Syria, Throne
Qalb Lozeh
The church in the village of Qalb Lozeh ("Heart of the Almond") is the largest in the region and dates from the C5th. It is surrounded by the modern village and is one of the best preserved churches in the area, although the north side has been damaged and a new wall has been built to secure the monument. At one point the church had a bema in the nave, but this was removed and the outline of the former platform is still visible in the flagstones. It is also notable for its impressive western façade that is flanked by two bell towers.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bema, C5th, Church, Jebel Il'Ala, Limestone Massif, Qalb Lozeh, Syria, Tower
Kafar Daret 'Azzeh
Kafar Daret 'Azzeh means the ruins of Daret 'Azzeh and the remains of the church are located on a hill to the north and east of the current town. The church is dated 399-400 and only survives to a height of 3-4 courses above ground level.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Bema, C4th-C5th, Church, Jebel Seman, Kafar Daret 'Azzeh, Limestone Massif, Pulpit, Syria, Throne
Faferteen
The church in Faferteen lies beside a road in the middle of the village. The stone has been stolen from the site so that, somewhat incongruously, only the apse remains. The church was previously dated 372, making it extremely early, but so little remained in 1997 that it was impossible to verify the date.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bema, C4th, Church, Faferteen, Jebel Seman, Limestone Massif, Syria
Kalota
There are several churches in Kalota, the one with a bema is dated 492 and located to the east of the sprawling settlement. The village is sprawling and was quite extensively inhabited in 1997 and 1998. The new road to the village means that it will now be even densely inhabited and this will put the archaeological remains at risk.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bema, C5th, Church, Jebel Seman, Kalota, Limestone Massif, Syria
Qal'at Kalota
The C5th church of Qalat Kalota stands on a hill to the west of the village of Kalota. It gets its name from the Arabic word "Qal'ah" or castle as, like Kharab Shams, the church was fortified in the Islamic era. It is generally well preserved and stands in a large courtyard with a martyrium to the south of the church.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bema, C5th, Church, Early Islamic, Fortress, Jebel Seman, Limestone Massif, Martyrium, Qalat Kalota, Syria
Bennawi Bema Throne
The church of Bennawi, south of Aleppo, was reported destroyed by the 1950s when Georges Tchalenko undertook his monumental three volume study of the Syrian Limestone Massif. The basalt "bema throne" or pulpit was preserved and is now in the garden of the National Museum in Damascus.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Basalt, Bema, Bennawi, Damascus, Damascus National Museum, Inscription, Pulpit, Sculpture, Syria, Syriac, Syriac Inscription, Throne
Kharab Shams
The church of Kharab Shams was built in the C4th and is generally well preserved, however it was altered in the early Islamic period when the apse area was turned into a small fortress. Today the small settlement is completely abandoned except by shepherds and goatherds who use the wells around the site.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bema, C4th, Church, Early Islamic, Fortress, Jebel Seman, Kharab Shams, Limestone Massif, Syria
Kafar Nabo
Kafar Nabo is on Jebel Seman about halfway between Burj Heidar and Brad and in 1997 it was accessible only by walking. The settlement was sacred to the god Nabo in antiquity and in the C4th a large church was built on the site of the pagan temple. Elements of this temple were incorporated in the church, which also possessed a double-size bema. Scattered around the site were the remains of a ciborium, an earlier Latin inscription, two Roman statues (one male, one female) and a Greek inscription on a door lintel.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bema, C4th, Church, Ciborium, Figure, Greek, Greek Inscription, Jebel Seman, Kafar Nabo, Latin, Latin Inscription, Limestone Massif, Nabo, Pagan, Sculpture, Syria, Temple