- Collection: Homs and its hinterland
15 Items
Dayr es Salib
The basilica at Dayr es Salib has an almost square floorplan and is believed to date to the C5th-C6th. The remains of a Greek-style ambon and a cruciform baptismal font are still in situ at the site.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Ambon, Architecture, Baptismal Font, Basilica, C5th-C6th, Church, Dayr es Salib, Syria
Ghonthur
Ghonthur is a hamlet in the Syrian desert between Homs and Palmyra that still preserves some of the mud brick "beehive houses" that were historically the indigenous domestic architecture of the region.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Desert, Ghonthur, Syria
Hammam Abu Rabah
Hammam Abu Rabah gets its name because sulphurous steam rises from underground at the site and rooms have been built to harness this steam for use as a sauna. To the west of the "baths" is a substantial medieval ruin, possibly of a Khan/Caravanserai.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bath, Caravanserai, Desert, Khan, Medieval, Syria
Hawwarin
Hawwarin was known as Evaria in late antiquity and is recorded as being the seat of two bishoprics. It appears to date from the Roman era as there is extensive evidence of Roman spolia in the Byzantine remains in the town. The local population talk of there having been seven basilicas in the settlement and evidence of three of these is still extant, although only one has been excavated thus far - by a Syrian team led by Wedad Khoury of the DGAM. The Roman dressed limestone blocks were carried to the site from some distance away as there are no quarries in the vicinity of the town and the modern dwellings are mud brick or cement. At the centre of the settlement is the mysterious "burj" or tower, which local people believe to have been part of an Umayyad hunting lodge, but which is built with Roman spoil and may well date from the Byzantine period as its nearest equivalent structure is the C6th stone tower at Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi. However, unlike the Qasr and neighbouring Khans/Caravanserai this tower has entrances to both the north and south rather than the single entrance that is the norm for such structures.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Archaeological Excavation, Architecture, Basilica, Byzantine, Castle, Church, Evaria, Hawwarin, Limestone, Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi, Roman, Syria, Tower, Umayyad
Kharbaqa dam
The Kharbaqa dam has traditionally been attributed to the Romans, but more recent research has argued that it was constructed in the Umayyad period as part of the irrigation networks linked to Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi. The dam is around 345 metres wide and 20 metres high, but how long it remained useful is debated as the southern side of the dam is completely silted up and it is believed that this process happened relatively early in the life of the dam limiting its value to the local irrigation system.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Dam, Irrigation system, Kharbaqa, Roman, Syria, Umayyad
Qaryatayn Syrian Orthodox Manuscript 
A number of Syriac and Garshuni manuscripts belonging to the Syrian Orthodox Church were in the safe-keeping of a village family in the early 2000s and these MSS have now been presented to the Syrian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Homs. The date of this MS is unknown.
Type: Manuscript
Tags: Garshuni, Manuscript, Qaryatayn, Syria, Syriac, Syrian Civil War
Qaryatayn Syrian Orthodox Manuscript dating from 1620
A number of Syriac and Garshuni manuscripts belonging to the Syrian Orthodox Church were in the safe-keeping of a village family in the early 2000s and these MSS have now been presented to the Syrian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Homs. This MS dates from 1620 and gives details of a great flood at that time as well as information about local bishops.
Type: Manuscript
Tags: 1620, Garshuni, Manuscript, Qaryatayn, Syria, Syriac, Syrian Civil War, Syrian Orthodox
Qaryatayn Syrian Orthodox Manuscript dating from 1815
A number of Syriac and Garshuni manuscripts belonging to the Syrian Orthodox Church were in the safe-keeping of a village family in the early 2000s and these MSS have now been presented to the Syrian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Homs. This MS is dated to 1815 and includes the stories of St. Anabula the fool, St. Ishmoni and her seven sons and St. Elias and his son.
Type: Manuscript
Tags: 1815, Garshuni, Manuscript, Qaryatayn, St. Anabula, St. Elias, St. Ishmoni, Syria, Syriac, Syrian Orthodox
Qaryatayn Syrian Orthodox Manuscript dating from 1826
A number of Syriac and Garshuni manuscripts belonging to the Syrian Orthodox Church were in the safe-keeping of a village family in the early 2000s and these MSS have now been presented to the Syrian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Homs. This MS is dated to 1826.
Type: Manuscript
Tags: 1826, Garshuni, Manuscript, Qaryatayn, Syria, Syriac, Syrian Civil War, Syrian Orthodox
Qaryatayn Tell
The tell in Qaryatayn was the centre of a middle bronze age kingdom, with the site being settled due to the presence of an oasis. The significance of the town declined over time although a garrison was permanently stationed in Qaryatayn in the Ottoman period in order to protect travellers from raids by the Bedouin as they travelled between Damascus and Palmyra. These pictures of the tell were taken by a local resident in May 2012 after the tell was bulldozed by unknown looters. Quickly taken on a telephone, the photographer returned the next morning with a camera but found the artefacts shown in these low resolution pictures had already been destroyed.
Type: Sculpture
Tags: Archaeology, Destruction, Looting, Qaryatayn, Sculpture, Syria, Syrian Civil War, Tell