237 Items
Pyramid tomb, Al Bara
Al Bara is a modern town located besides the ruins of a substantial late antique settlement in Idlib province. It is particularly well-known for its distinctive pyramidal-roofed mausoleum.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Al Bara, Architecture, Jebel Zawiyeh, Late Antique, Limestone Massif, Mausoleum, Pyramid, Syria
Bosra Bath complex
A bath complex in the vicinity of the theatre of Bosra.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Basalt, Bath, Bosra, Syria
Bosra Cathedral of SS. Leontius and Bacchus
The C5th cathedral of Bosra has a quatrefoil centralised floor plan terminating in the east end in a complex arrangement of a central apse, flanked by two chambers that then link through to two further small subsidiary apses to north and south. Therefore the east end is divided into five chambers, three being apsed and two that presumably functioned as sacristies or martyria.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Basalt, Bosra, C5th, Cathedral, Centrally-Planned, Martyrium, St. Bacchus, St. Leontius, Syria
Bosra Basilica of the Monk Bahira
This basilica is a pre-Christian basilica, probably dating from the C3rd that was later adapted for use as a church. It has also been traditionally linked to the monk who supposedly discussed religion with the Prophet Mohammad in the city.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bahira, Basalt, Basilica, Bosra, C3rd, Mohammad, Roman, Syria
Bosra Theatre
The Roman theatre at Bosra is often cited as being one of the best preserved Roman theatres in the world. It was fortified and used as a citadel in the Islamic era and retained this defensive function with local people living inside the structure until they were evicted under the French Mandate in the 1920s. Today part of the building houses a mosaic museum and the theatre is still used for concerts and cultural events.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Basalt, Bosra, Citadel, Early Islamic, Mosaic, Roman, Syria, Theatre
Cyrrhus
The city of Cyrrhus lies to the north of the Limestone Massif near the contemporary Syrian-Turkish border. Today it is known locally as Nebi Uri as a late antique tomb on the site is believed by the local population to be the tomb of the Old Testament prophet Uriah. Apart from the tomb, the most notable remains still extant are the Roman bridge and amphitheatre - there is little clear evidence above ground of the Christian city that played a significant role in the C5th church councils thanks to the participation of Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrrhus.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bridge, Cyrrhus, Late Antique, Nebi Uri, Roman, Syria, Theatre, Theodoret, Tomb, Uriah
Resafa North Eastern Church
This is a small ruinous chapel located in the north-eastern quarter of the city.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Church, Resafa, Syria
Resafa Martyrium
The C5th centrally-planned martyrium at Resafa was the original resting place of the saint and the focus of the cult. Later the relics were translated to the basilica to the south east of the city and the importance of the church declined.
The colour images are from 2010.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, C5th, Centrally-Planned, Martyrium, Resafa, St. Sergius, Syria
Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem
Early sources reveal that Constantine’s church of the Holy Sepulchre was sumptuously decorated with fine marbled panels, columns and a coffered ceiling. A cross was set up on the rock of Golgotha to commemorate the exact site of the Crucifixion and was replaced over the following centuries with one decorated with gems, a golden cross and a simple wooden one in the seventh century. Christ’s tomb was in two parts: the first a porch that contained part of the stone that formed the door to the tomb and the second the tomb itself. It had a roof of silver and gold, outer walls made of marble and it was topped with a cross.
The modern church has been significantly modified and little of the Late Antique fabric has survived as much of it was rebuilt in the nineteenth and twentieth century following a fire and an earthquake that caused much damage.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, C12th, C19th-C20th, C2nd, C4th, Christ, Christian, Church, Constantine, Cross, Crucifixion, Crusades, Domed Basilica, Golgotha, Holy Sepulchre, Holy Site, Israel, Jerusalem, Joseph of Arimathea, Mosaic, Pilgrimage, Resurrection, St. Helena, Tomb
The external architecture of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem
The first church of the Holy Sepulchre built by the Emperor Constantine was dedicated in the year 328 AD. It was accessed off one of Jerusalem’s main thoroughfares, the Cardo. The entrance led to a narthex, the basilica, an atrium and culminated with the Anastasis (or Resurrection) Rotunda that surrounded the much smaller edifice of Christ’s Tomb. Unfortunately, very little of this church now remains. The Late Antique foundations exist below ground level of the current church and are cut off from public view. Throughout its history, the church has undergone many remodelling and rebuilding programmes, much of which was caused by its turbulent history during the Persian invasion in the seventh century and the Muslim conquest of the city in the eleventh century. Much of the visible external architecture dates to the Crusader period.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, C12th, C19th-C20th, C2nd, C4th, Christ, Christian, Church, Constantine, Crucifixion, Crusades, Domed Basilica, Golgotha, Holy Sepulchre, Holy Site, Israel, Jerusalem, Pilgrimage, Resurrection, St. Helena, Tomb