Basalt Door
These basalt doors are found across Syria, but generally most frequently originate from the Syrian Limestone Massif around Aleppo and Idlib provinces. They are found throughout the Late Antique period and were a particular feature of tower-houses occupied by multiple families. In some cases these doors have remained in situ, thus enabling us to see how they would have been far easier to operate than the modern viewer would expect.
Emma Loosley
2010-08-29
Joshua Bryant
Metadata and all media released under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA International licence unless otherwise indicated
Museum Exhibit
Basalt funerary stele of a woman
This basalt stele shows a full-length portrait of the deceased. It is currently on display in the garden of the National Museum of Damascus.
Emma Loosley
2010-08-29
Joshua Bryant
Metadata and all media released under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA International licence unless otherwise indicated
Museum Exhibit
Basalt funerary stele with depiction of a family and a Greek inscription
This stele shows a large sculpture of a man accompanied by the smaller figures of a woman and child and a Greek inscription. It is currently displayed in the garden of the National Museum of Damascus.
Emma Loosley
2010-08-29
Joshua Bryant
Metadata and all media released under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA International licence unless otherwise indicated
Museum Exhibit
Basalt funerary stele with Greek inscriptions and symbolic items
This funerary stele shows items that meant something to the deceased along with a crude Greek inscription. It is now displayed in the garden of the National Museum of Damascus.
Emma Loosley
2010-08-29
Joshua Bryant
Metadata and all media released under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA International licence unless otherwise indicated
Museum Exhibit
Basalt relief of the tauroctony
This basalt relief attached to the wall of the National Museum in Damascus shows the tauroctony, the central cult scene of Mithraism where Mithras slays the bull to ensure the passage of the seasons and the continued fertility of the Earth.
Emma Loosley
2010-08-29
Joshua Bryant
Metadata and all media released under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA International licence unless otherwise indicated
Museum Exhibit
Basalt relief of winged victories
This basalt relief of winged victories is displayed on an exterior wall of the National Museum of Damascus. The relatively crude carving of the object reflects the difficulty of working with basalt.
Emma Loosley
2010-08-29
Joshua Bryant
Metadata and all media released under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA International licence unless otherwise indicated
Museum Exhibit
Carved Basalt Slab
This carved basalt slab contains cruciform imagery but is extremely unlikely to have come from a church, as such motifs were widespread in the Roman and Late Antique periods and often were intended as abstract designs rather than having an underlying meaning.
Emma Loosley
2010-08-29
Joshua Bryant
Metadata and all media released under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA International licence unless otherwise indicated
Museum Exhibit
Dayr Mar Elian Museum
This small exhibition space was established in the restored room north of the tower at Mar Elian and held the fragments of Byzantine reliquaries found during the excavations, along with ceramic and glass objects. This included a number of C19th amphorae that had been uncovered west of the 1938 church and which environmental analysis revealed had held wine or grape molasses.
Emma Loosley
2005-07-01/2005-07-31
Emma Loosley
Metadata and all media released under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA International licence unless otherwise indicated
Museum Exhibit
General view of the garden of Damascus National Museum with Classical and Late Antique sculpture on display
This image shows how sculpture is displayed in an outdoor context at the National Museum of Damascus as the collection is so extensive that only the exceptional works are displayed inside the museum.
Emma Loosley
2010-08-29
Joshua Bryant
Metadata and all media released under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA International licence unless otherwise indicated
Museum Exhibit
Limestone Funerary Effigy of a Man
This limestone carving is a funerary effigy for an unknown man.
Emma Loosley
2010-08-29
Joshua Bryant
Metadata and all media released under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA International licence unless otherwise indicated
Museum Exhibit