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South of the church and further up the slope is a small house in excellent polygonal style with huge monolithic lintels and jambs (photo) A number of the houses of the town were in this style.
The majority of the houses however are in megalithic and simple quadrated styles with or without colonnades. A few small houses have a rectangular portico over the lower door, remains of steps leading up at the side to an upper doorway on the roof of the portico. A large house at the N.W. part of the town has a fine 2 story colonnade of ornamented rectangular piers with panels and seats between the upper piers.
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This ruin is situated at the top of one of the low northern spans of the Djebel Barîsha, at the end of the valley below Nūrîyi about 20 mins further north. Little is left of the buildings which originally must have been of considerable extent. At the highest part of the ruin, to the west, is a tall square tower in large quadrated work with small window openings. Below this to the south is a rather long building in plain quadrated rock with two ornamented doorways and originally a single story colonnade to the south. In front of this there seems to have been a large enclosed courtyard - both building and courtyard are built upon a high artificial terrace in the eastern slope.
Slightly above this building, west of it and a little to the rear are the remains of a huge megalithic colonnade with a few piers, over 10ft. high and architraves still standing.
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Further east along the ridge are the ruins of a group of private houses. But one of these is at all preserved. This consists of a two story arcade of great delicacy of design and quite elaborate workmanship.
The lower colonnade is rectangular with moulded caps and architrave, the upper has columns about 8ft. in height with pseudo Ionic caps below an ornamented architrave - Between the columns are large well fitted panels, ornamented with discs in front and carved with seats at the back.
The bases of the columns on account of the presence of these panels are not carved all round but are treated like bases of half columns, carved in front and left as a simple block at the back, where the panel is fitted to them. There are also remains of megalithic colonnades and ^ some ^ of ornamented rectangular style.
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This is a conspicuous ruin on the top of a conical hill at the ^ North^ end of the valley between the Djebel el A'la and the Djebel Barîsha. It is about half an hour south of Ma'ramâya.
The ruins are scanty consisting chiefly of the church to the S.E. a square building 100 yards west of it and several much ruined houses in megalithic style.
Church. The church is not large but is of interesting plan. The apse is semicircular with, well ornamented arch still standing, the nave was undivided - the north wall, which is still preserved, shows a row of small rectangular windows high above the ground. There were originally three portals - one to the west and two to the south - all are fallen.
On the south was a columnar porch about 10ft. wide between the projecting wall and east wall of the church.
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The square building west of the church is low, with heavy overhanging cornice, it is built of large quadrated blocks and its walls seem to have been unbroken except for a broad doorway, with simply ornamented lintel, and a large window beside it quite plain on the exterior but provided within with moulded top and sides. The only window so ornamented that I have noticed here.
The other buildings are much ruined and sadly delapidated.
M'arsaba Just east of the hill of Ishruk are the ruins of a simple monastery of no great size built in plain large quadrated style. Little of it is standing and the ruin is of little interest. Below it on the side of the hill, facing west is a large rock cut chamber with remains of presses inside. There is an outer and an inner chamber, well hewn in the rock. On the south wall of the former over a niche is an insc. in GK. cut in large letters - giving simply a name.
