- Collection: The Limestone Massif of North-Western Syria
63 Items
Dayr Seman north west monastery
This monastery is in a more ruined condition than its counterpart and stands apart from the rest of the village, with a view of the bottom of the triumphal way leading up to Qalat Seman.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Church, Dayr Seman, Jebel Seman, Limestone Massif, Monastery, Pilgrimage, Qalat Seman, Syria
Dayr Seman south west monastery
This is one of two monastery complexes in Dayr Seman, which when it was visited and photographed in 1997 was in a very good state of preservation and partially inhabited by a Kurdish family. The Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM) later evicted them, but it may now be reinhabited.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Church, Dayr Seman, Inscription, Jebel Seman, Limestone Massif, Monastery, Pilgrimage, Qalat Seman, Syria, Syriac, Syriac Inscription
Dayr Tell Ada
Dayr Tell Ada stands on the southern slopes of Jebel Sheikh Barakat (the Mountain of the Old Man of Blessings) and plays a large role in the history of the Syrian Orthodox Church. It was mentioned by Theodoret and other chroniclers as the place where Simeon Stylites began his monastic career, before being expelled for the extreme feats of mortification that he insisted on undertaking. It was a 'dual house' for both Syriac and Greek speakers and had two abbots - one for each language - at the time of Theodoret.
It later became the home of St Jacob of Edessa, who died at Tell Ada in 708 having returned to pack up his fabled library when he moved home to Edessa.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Dayr Tell Ada, Edessa, Greek, Jebel Seman, Jebel Sheikh Barakat, Library, Limestone Massif, Monastery, Simeon Stylites, St. Jacob of Edessa, Syria, Syriac, Theodoret
Dehes
Dehes is in the south of the Jebel Barisha and has been excavated by a French team since it was initially surveyed by Tchalenko. The C5th church in the village is generally very well preserved and has a bema, chancel screen and the altar stone still extant at the time of the site visit.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Altar, Architecture, Bema, C5th, Chancel Screen, Dehes, Jebel Barisha, 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
Jeradeh
The modern settlement of Jeradeh has developed to the side of the ancient village, meaning that in the 1990s the site had not been plundered for stone . The C5th church is heavily overgrown and the foliage makes it difficult to see all the church interior.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bema, C5th, Church, Jebel Zawiyeh, Jeradeh, Limestone Massif, Syria
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
Kafar Hawwar
At the time of the visit there were no roads within about 30 minutes walk of this village. The church is largely rubble with only the sides of the apse arch still standing, with the destruction almost certainly caused my earthquakes. The bema was still visible and the site was undisturbed. Tchalenko could not securely date the site through survey and noted both C4th and C6th elements in the church.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bema, C4th, C6th, Church, Jebel Halaqa, Kafar Hawwar, 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
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