Butler Diary: Northern and Central Syria II, 1899

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by an arch supported upon pilasters with flowing foliate caps. The apse arch seems to have been richly ornamented. The columns of the nave had monolithic shafts and capitals of good sub-corinthian order. The north doorway was finely ornamented on lintel and jambs, there were two windows, (round topped) in the north wall to the east of the doorway and one to the west.

The exterior ornament while not rich was good and varied. The windows of the apse have a simple moulding around them - those in the north side have a continuous moulding at the sill level carried over them and curving between them. {diagram}. While the windows at the west were square with mouldings continuous.

At the west end was a portico, ^ 10ft. deep ^ extending the full-width of the façade. Only the east and north walls with parts of the west wall and the apse chapels remain standing all of the interior structure and the south wall are in a confused heap of ruins.

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Of the numerous and varied examples of domestic architecture its necessary to mention only a few. The two storied colonnades which form the façades of some of the houses are of interesting design - That of a house just east of the West church has 2 stories of rectangular piers with moulded caps - moulded architraves and an ornamental moulding above the upper architrave which turns downward at the ends.

Another colonnade has ordinary monolithic piers of rectangular section with capitals in which an attempt was made to represent the Ionic and Corinthian orders alternately.

A small house S.E. of the W. Church is a type for city residences. It is quite narrow - not over 25ft. in width - the ground story presents a sort of portico ^ of two ^ columns between the projecting walls of the house which turn an angle on either side.

Dêhes

plan and profile of Bracket of balconey, Dêhes

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upon the portico are a door and window. Above the portico a loggia is formed in the same way and above this is the gable.

The ornament of the front is confined to the caps and architrave mouldings but it is of simple dignified character (see photo)

Among the houses I noticed two with brackets (see sketch) not over a door, which must have supported balconies as the upper story. A ruined house at the S.E. of the town has a finely built wall in which the large squared blocks of stone have tooled edges. The first instance I have noticed here of that particular form of stone dressing.

Villa. At the south of the town is the ruin of a large villa of oblong form showing only plain walls of large blocks of cut stone on the exterior broken only by a door in the middle of the long side and a few small windows in the upper story. Within, this structure was divided into three sections

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A large open court in the middle, with 2 story, transverse colonnades on either side, and two large rooms at either end (see photo).

The colonnades were of the rectangular decorated type - of fine columns each with panels and window seats between the upper supports.

The sections at the other end of the villa were divided into 2 rooms each, both opened upon the colonnades and were connected by doorways.

Tomb. The rock cut tomb is situated a little to the south of the town. It is entered like the ordinary small tombs by a narrow staircase, reducing at the bottom where there is a low entrance with remains of a groove and socket for rolling away the stone. Within is a large flat roofed chamber with two spacious arcosolia in each of there walls. Each arch entrances two tombs - one low sarcophagus in front and a second above it at the back of the niche. The side of the upper sarcophagus