28 Items
Dayr Seman
Dayr Seman is the village at the foot of the hill on which Qalat Seman stands and was the main reception centre for the many pilgrims who flocked to visit Simon Stylites, and after his death in 459, the pillar that he stood on. These are general views of the settlement and the triumphal arch that marked the path for pilgrims travelling to Qalat Seman.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Dayr Seman, Jebel Seman, Landscape, Limestone Massif, Pilgrimage, Qalat Seman, Simeon Stylites, Syria, Triumphal Arch
Burjke
This small chapel in Burjke was being used as an animal shed in 1997 and was perfectly preserved beside the road leading to Faferteen.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Burjke, Church, Jebel Seman, Limestone Massif, Syria
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
Sitt er Rum
The small settlement of Sitt er Rum is west of Qalat Seman one the other side of the valley. Its most complete extant monument is the late antique tower beside the road to Zar Zita and Qatura.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Jebel Seman, Late Antique, Limestone Massif, Qalat Seman, Qatura, Sitt er Rum, Syria, Tower, Zar Zita
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
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
Sheikh Sulaiman C5th church
The C5th church remains in the heart of the village and it is perhaps for this reason that so little of it was still extant in 1997. The bema was still visible along with fragments of wall and several doorways, but the rest of the stone had been taken from the site.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bema, C5th, Church, Jebel Seman, Limestone Massif, Sheikh Sulaiman, Syria
Sheikh Sulaiman C6th church
This church is very well preserved with the portico and a tower still extant. There is some speculation that the tower could once have been the dwelling of a hermit due to the stylite imagery on the portico and because the whole complex was constructed a short distance away from the village.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, C6th, Church, Jebel Seman, Limestone Massif, Sheikh Sulaiman, Stylite, Syria, Tower