Butler Diary: Northern and Central Syria II, 1899

23

Bābisḳa

The large ruin, on the southwest of the town, of nondescript plan, covers a large space. These may have been a number of buildings about a court, the largest is that of the north - a large two storied building with a vaulted passage at the side. Above the vault is a second story with a row of round topped windows. On the south is a long building with an open 2 storied colonnade roofed with large slabs of stone. This colonnade is on the south side, without the courtyard. Adjoining this building to the east is a small structure like a chapel- ornamented with doorway to the west and a vaulted passage along the south wall. The upper story has a row of round topped windows, ^ two windows ^ to the west, over the portal and the one opposite, in the eastern wall, are divided by a pilaster faced with ^ an ^ engaged colonnette on the outer and inner side. The colonnettes representing sub-corinthian and sub-Ionic orders

Bābisḳa

notes, Dimensions of plain quadrated stoa.

24

Bābisḳa

The domestic architecture of Bābisḳa is of simple character a considerable number of houses are in plain megalithic style with dividing floors of large slabs carried by simple piers and architraves.

All of the doorwards are slightly ornamented and a few new designs of lintel decoration were noted (see photos).

Besides the houses there are a large number of long two story colonnades with shallow structures behind them.

These colonnades are roofed with stone slabs and are sometimes 100ft long. Some of them are perfectly plain while others have moulded caps or architraves or both. In some cases two colonnades are found facing each other not over 25ft. apart.

The fact that the emphasis is given to the colonnades while the buildings to which they belong are comparatively unimportant would seem to warrant the hypothesis

25

Bābisḳa

that they were markets or bazaars.

The lower story ^ wall ^ of the buildings is plain, broken only a doorway ornamented with a simple disc, while the upper story often has windows in the rear wall. The wares of the merchants were doubtless displayed in the lower colonnade in the daytime and placed in the dark chamber behind for security at night. The upper story may have been a dwelling or a series of dwellings opening by a broad doorway upon the upper colonnade - The dividing floors of these colonnades was invariably of wood while the roof is usually of stone slabs.

A smaller colonnade than the above described which may have belonged to either a house or a shop bears a Syriac insc. giving the name of the owner and the date 596 A.D. "according to the reckoning of Antioch" (E.L. insc. 6.)

Another small house bears a GK. insc. (W.K.P insc 26.) giving the name of the owner of the house his profession (an architect) and the date - April, 589 A.D.

26

Bā'ûdi November 7-8, 1899.

This ruined town is only 15 minutes east of Bābisḳa It is smaller than the latter town and of totally different architectural character. The buildings consist chiefly of long two story colonnades as if the place were chiefly a market town - a few detached houses stand on the outskirts and a small church close to the markets.

The two story colonnades are, most of them of rather ornamental character having ^ rectangular ^ moulded caps in the lower and upper colonnades and moulded architraves. The upper story is preserved in each case with single block pannels between the supports. These usually bear some symbol or ornament in the centre. ^ No stone roofs. ^ The buildings to which these colonnades are attached are unlike those of Bābisḳa in that they are generally built of rough polygonal blocks laid in yellow clay. The doorways and windows only being framed in large blocks.