754 Items
Kfellusin North Church
The north, probably C5th, church has been heavily mined for building materials and, at the time of the visit was strewn with rubbish. Only the bema, apse and part of the southern colonnade were still extant and the presence of a notched pillar suggested that originally some form of nave barrier was present - as appears to have been the case at several other sites such as Kharab Shams and Kafar Daret 'Azzeh.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Bema, C5th, Church, Jebel Halaqa, Kafar Daret 'Azzeh, Kfellusin, Kharab Shams, Limestone Massif, Syria
Sergibleh Tower
This tower stands in the village of Sergibleh on the Jebel Halaqa and was a form of high-density accommodation in late antiquity as well as a place of refuge for villagers at a time of attack.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Jebel Halaqa, Late Antique, Limestone Massif, Sergibleh, Syria, Tower
Sergibleh
The C5th century church was very well preserved apart from on the south side, as the ruins were located at a short distance from modern dwellings. The only exception to this was the fact that the bema had been disturbed by looters.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bema, C5th, Church, Jebel Halaqa, Limestone Massif, Sergibleh, Syria
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
Sinkhar
Sinkhar is located in a valley between Batuta and Sheikh Sulaiman and, at the time of the site visit, was only accessible by walking for some distance. The C4th church in the village was severely overgrown, meaning that only a well-preserved chapel to the south of the main church, that was added in the C6th, could be accessed and it was impossible to find any trace of the bema and other features recorded by Tchalenko in the 1950s.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bema, C4th, C6th, Church, Jebel Seman, Limestone Massif, Sinkhar, Syria
Brad 561 Church
This church is a relatively large size considering that it stands directly to the north of the cathedral-sized Church of Julianos in Brad. An inscription dates it to 561.
Type: Architecture
Tags: 561, Architecture, Brad, Church, Jebel Seman, Limestone Massif, Syria
Brad Church of Julianos
Brad is on a high plateau in one of the more inaccessible areas of the Jebel Seman and was a large town in late antiquity, famous in hagiographical sources as the birthplace of St. Maroun. The Church of Julianos has been dated by inscriptions to 399-402 and is one of the largest churches in the region, with the remains of a large bema still visible and a side apse to the north and the west wall being the best preserved elements of the site at the time of visit. Much of the stone seemed to have been reused in the construction of local dwellings.
Type: Architecture
Tags: 399-402, Architecture, Bema, Brad, Church, Jebel Seman, Julianos, Limestone Massif, St. Maroun, Syria
Kimar
The modern village now surrounds the C5th church in Kimar, although a recently built house beside the site did not immediately threaten the ruins at the time of the site visit. The walls and bema were in relatively good condition, although nothing stood higher than around knee-height. At this site the bema had clear notches in the stone indicating that wooden seats and panels would have originally been attached to the stone base of the platform.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bema, C5th, Church, Jebel Seman, Kimar, Limestone Massif, Syria
Suganeh
The C4th church of Suganeh is located in the centre of the village and, on a visit in 1998, was surrounded by modern dwellings and at risk of being destroyed. At that time it was being used as a village rubbish dump and the stone was being taken for modern building projects. Only the apse, bema and a group of sarcophagi south of the apse were still extant at the time of the visit.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bema, C4th, Church, Jebel Seman, Limestone Massif, Suganeh, Syria
Bukistsikhe Castle
Bukistsikhe castle occupies a very strategic position on a hill above the River Supsa at the point where the narrow river valley opens up into a wider plain.
Type: Architecture
Tags: C4th-C6th, Castle, Defensive Network, Fortifications, Georgia, Georgian