Berriš north

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Berriš Nord , also Berris Nord; was an early Byzantine settlement in northwest Syria in the area of ​​the Dead Cities . In the field of ruins, buildings from Roman times and the remains of a small basilica have been preserved.

location

Berriš Nord is located at almost 700 meters above sea level in the Idlib Governorate on the karst high altitude of the Jebel il-Ala, a remote hill region in the western central part of the northern Syrian limestone massif. The place is adjacent to Bettir . It is located a few kilometers north of Qalb Loze and close to the other ancient settlements of Qirqbize , Behyo and Benebil. The few inhabitants of the highlands who live scattered in hamlets are predominantly Druze . Agriculture is limited to a few places where a sufficiently thick layer of soil allows the cultivation of grain, otherwise sheep are farmed in the area.

The ruins were only explored archaeologically at a late stage. In 1939, Georges Tchalenko was the first to house the church and a meeting house / inn for men (Andron). Christine Strube examined the building decoration of the church in the 1970s.

Andron

A settlement already existed in Roman times from the 2nd or 3rd century. The Andron is inscribed and dated 231 AD. The rectangular two-storey building with only one small room on each floor corresponds in size to the rural Roman houses, of which ruins have been preserved in Qirqbize. The ground floor, which is half sunk into the ground like a cave, is unusual. In its modest dimensions, it differs from later meeting houses such as Andron von Serjilla, which was planned as a residence and center of the village . The powerful, in irregular Association , but find themselves at the same time also on Roman tombs in exact locations layered stone blocks in the form of a Greek temple were built. Such a temple tomb is completely preserved in Ruweiha . The architrave there is profiled similarly to the lintel of the Andron with the sequence of smooth ribbons, tooth cuts and chamfers.

church

The three-aisled column basilica was the only church in the settlement. They had four yoke in each of the nave high walls and a semicircular apse in a straight east wall. The southern side of the apse served as a martyrion ( reliquary chamber), the northern one had a connecting door to the chancel and can therefore be recognized as a deaconess . In the nave , in the middle of which a stone platform ( bema ) was built for the clergy , two doors led from the south side. The eastern entrance was highlighted by a pillar portico . The other outer walls were closed. There was a walled courtyard on the south side. The outer facade was very simply designed with round arches ("arcuated lintels") on the windows. The usual frame profiles were missing on the doors.

Lying on the floor of the nave, some column bases and fragments of columns , ashlar stones and capitals of the apse arch, five of the six column capitals and some cornice stones that belonged to the windows of the upper aisles have been preserved . The outer walls are partially upright up to the eaves. The capitals of the apse arch are made in the Corinthian style with notched leaves. The other capitals are also Corinthian with two rows of leaves without sprout axes (caules) and without bracts, only one column capital is a Tuscan variant with a wreath of leaves and a slightly curved Echinus below the cover plate .

In Berriš Nord, the end of the church development in the middle mountain area of ​​the northern Syrian limestone massif can be seen. Compared to the western church of Kalota (around 600), the capitals are more sophisticated. Based on the style studies, Tchalenko and Strube date the church to the end of the 6th century.

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. 186–188
  • E. Baccache: Églises de village de la Syrie du Nord. Documents photographiques des archives de'l Institut Francais d'Archeologie due Proche-Orient . Paul Geuthner, Paris 1980, pp. 113–115 (black and white photographs)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ George Tate: Asseto of Villaggio. L'organization du village en Syrie à l'époque byzantine (4 eme –7 eme siècles). In: Andre Guillou (ed.): La Civilta Bizantina, Oggetti E Messagio: Architettura E Ambiente Di Vita. 1993, p. 91 f, 135: Fig. 35, 36 ( at google books )
  2. ↑ Strube, pp. 186-188

Coordinates: 36 ° 10 ′ 49 ″  N , 36 ° 34 ′ 32 ″  E