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ornament and has rendered almost
illegible the long Greek inscription upon
the lintel of the western portal.

However there is an inscription
high up on the Eastern wall, between
the two pilasters on the northside, which
seems to repeat the reading of the other.
This has been published but was recopied
by Mr. Prentice. It indicates that the
edifice was constructed in honor of the
Roman Emperor Philip and gives the
date 245 A.D.

The building is almost concealed in its
lower parts by the native houses which
are built against its walls and the
outlines of the roof are disfigured by
crenellated battlements added in the
middle ages when it was converted into
a castle.