Barisha
Coordinates: 36 ° 9 ′ 58 ″ N , 36 ° 38 ′ 10 ″ E
Barischa , ( Arabic باريشا, DMG Bārīšā ) also Barisha and Baricha; is a village and an ancient settlement in the Dead Cities area of northwest Syria . The remains of mostly simple residential buildings and some olive presses have been preserved from the early Byzantine period.
location
The place is located in the Idlib governorate on the ridge of the same name, the Jebel Barischa, in the middle of the northern Syrian limestone massif. After one kilometer, the road in a northerly direction passes the junction towards Dehes and after four kilometers you reach the small village of Ras al-Hosn at a crossroads, and after another two kilometers the early Byzantine neighboring towns of Baqirha and Dar Qita . From here it is a further eight kilometers to the east to the confluence with the Aleppo expressway at the Syrian-Turkish border crossing at Bal al-Hawa. The most famous place in the region is Qalb Loze , which is eight kilometers west of Barischa, separated by a valley on the Jebel il-Ala, which also runs in a north-south direction. Other ancient ruins are in the vicinity. To the south the road leads via Deir Seta to Idlib .
From the modern village without infrastructure, the field of ruins can be seen half a kilometer to the north. It is located on a flat slope across a valley in the middle of olive groves and grain fields in small plots that are separated by stone walls . The ancient wall remains are partly ingrown with bushes.
Townscape
The cultivation of olives and wine was the economic basis of the place from the 4th to the 6th century. In Barischa, an above-average number of olive presses have been preserved compared to other Dead Cities. There were some stately two-story buildings in the center of the village in the area of the church, which are known as residences and to which a pillar portico was presented on one long side. What is striking is the large number of smaller and very simple residential buildings with unadorned rectangular windows without portico , the upright walls of which are made of huge stone blocks.
In contrast to most of the Dead Cities, Barischa was not examined archaeologically until late and is therefore little known in general literature. The first thorough investigation of the church from the 6th century was carried out by Christine Strube in the 1970s.
The only church built by a local workshop is a three-aisled columned basilica with a rectangular chancel in the east, which is flanked by side rooms. It has a straight east wall. This combination is a development of the late 5th century. The northern side room was accessible from the aisle through a door, the frame of which consists of ribbons in bas-relief. Only the fall stone is more elaborately designed with a wavy band with foliage. Because of the door, this room can be identified as a Diakonikon , the southern side room was connected to the nave by a wider round arch, as is typical for the Martyrion ( reliquary chamber ). In the completely preserved eastern gable wall there are four windows with round arched lintels ("arcuated lintel") and framing with a slight relief at the same height. The cornice , on the other hand, protrudes with a strong groove .
In many places, caves in the karst rocks served as water reservoirs for the dry season; In Barischa there is a cistern carved from the massive limestone underground with an above-ground vault. The internal dimensions are approximately 4 × 6.5 meters. A monolithic stone staircase along the wall leads down to the floor of the approximately eight meter deep cistern. The apex of the vault is three meters above the site.
Others
On October 26, 2019, the terrorist and leader of the so-called Islamic State , Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi , killed himself during Operation Kayla Mueller by US special forces in Barischa to avoid capture.
literature
- Christine Strube : Building decoration in the northern Syrian limestone massif. Vol. II. Forms of capitals, doors and cornices from the 6th and early 7th centuries AD (Damascene Research 12) Philipp von Zabern , Mainz 2002, pp. 85–87.
Individual evidence
- ↑ US command in Syria: Donald Trump confirms the death of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. In: Spiegel Online . October 27, 2019, accessed October 28, 2019 .