5 Items
Batir
The C5th church is relatively large with at least one large and elaborate sarcophagus still extant nearby. As at Barish North it has a flat east end, which is relatively unusual in this region. Only the south wall is extensively damaged, with the other three still quite well preserved and elements of the bema still visible in the nave.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Barish North, Batir, Bema, C5th, Church, Jebel Il'Ala, Limestone Massif, Syria
Barish North
The church is small and its flat east end abuts the Qalb Lozeh-Harim road. The bema is in situ, and as at Kimar has notches suggesting that a wooden structure was in place above the stone base of the bema. There are also reliquaries still in place on the altar steps. The church is very small and its unsophisticated plan and execution led Tchalenko to date it to the late C6th-early C7th.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Barish North, Bema, C6th-C7th, Church, Jebel Il'Ala, Kimar, Limestone Massif, Syria
Bahio
The C5th church at Bahio has a bema and, although overgrown had most of the west wall and a substantial part of the apse still standing. The site is surrounded by olive groves and the number of large olive presses in the late antique settlement demonstrates the antiquity of olive cultivation in the region.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bahio, Bema, C5th, Church, Jebel Il'Ala, Limestone Massif, Syria
Qirq Bizeh
Qirq Bizeh is the name of a small abandoned settlement to the north of Qalb Lozeh. A C2nd villa was converted into a church in the C4th or C5th and retains the internal liturgical fittings that clearly identify the ritual use of the building. It is very small, but houses a bema and has a raised platform at the east end that is divided from the rest of the chamber by a chancel screen. There is also evidence of reliquary chambers in the screen and small reliquary caskets elsewhere. The bema retains its 'throne' or pulpit and the ritual use of the house extends to the courtyard where extensive cisterns seem to have housed water or olive oil in antiquity.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bema, C4th, Jebel Il'Ala, Limestone Massif, Martyrium, Pulpit, Qirq Bizeh, Reliquary, Syria, Throne
Qalb Lozeh
The church in the village of Qalb Lozeh ("Heart of the Almond") is the largest in the region and dates from the C5th. It is surrounded by the modern village and is one of the best preserved churches in the area, although the north side has been damaged and a new wall has been built to secure the monument. At one point the church had a bema in the nave, but this was removed and the outline of the former platform is still visible in the flagstones. It is also notable for its impressive western façade that is flanked by two bell towers.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bema, C5th, Church, Jebel Il'Ala, Limestone Massif, Qalb Lozeh, Syria, Tower