Niha
Coordinates: 33 ° 54 ' N , 35 ° 58' E
Niha ( Arabic نيحا, DMG Nīha , ˈniħa ) is a village on the western edge of the Bekaa plain in Lebanon . It is known for its well-preserved Roman temple .
location
Niha belongs to the Zahlé district within the Bekaa governorate . The place is located at an altitude of 1,100 meters in a valley cut on the eastern slope of the Jebel Sannin, the summit of which, at 2,682 meters, forms the highest point in the southern Lebanon Mountains . Steep hills, rich in folds, tower above the place in the north and south as the foothills of this mountain range by around 150 meters.
A side road leads from Zahlé in the direction of Baalbek six kilometers to the northeast, until shortly after the village of Ablah a two-kilometer cul-de-sac branches off into the mountains. The place spreads out in a basin behind a hill that blocks the view of the Bekaa plain. The neighboring villages of Nabi Ayla in the south and Temnine el-Faouqa and behind it Qsarnaba in the north are at a similar height in further mountain valleys. They can also only be reached from the level on access roads.
In the area around the place, mainly viticulture is practiced, in addition, apple, peach and almond trees are planted in the plains of the side valleys and on terraced areas up to the steep slopes . Fig trees thrive in home gardens and along roadsides .
Townscape
The local area has an area of 9.7 square kilometers. Niha is - presumably since the 19th century - a village with an almost entirely Christian population. The villages in the valleys to the north, on the other hand, are Shiite . There are two churches for the 1000 to 3000 residents permanently living in the village; the Orthodox Church is dedicated to the prophet Elijah . It dates from the end of the 19th century and is located a few meters south of the Roman temple area. The other church is for the Maronites . Small places of worship of the Virgin Mary stand out on the houses, several large Christian crosses are placed on the hill in the south.
The supply of drinking water comes from springs that emerge from the limestone in the mountains above the village. The altitude makes Niha attractive as a summer retreat for emigrants to the cities who return home in the hot season.
Roman temples
The excavation site is at the upper end of the village, on the left below the road in a tree-lined stream valley. Two temples from Roman times have been preserved here in different states. Since the middle of the 2nd century, the Romans built many small temples and other sanctuaries on the edge of the Bekaa, most of which refer to the main town of Heliopolis, today's Baalbek.
The better preserved temple to the west, across the stream, was built in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. It was consecrated to the Syrian- Phoenician thunder and rain god Hadaranes ( Hadad ) and the fertility goddess Atargatis . The entrance of the sanctuary with the external dimensions 32 × 14 meters is in the east. It is a prostylus temple with an (lost) outer row of four Corinthian columns and behind them two inner Ionic columns. A wide flight of stairs led up to the dais on which the temple stood. This is still partially available. On the front side there were stone blocks with reliefs on the right and left. The left relief has been preserved and shows a standing man with a pointed hood on his head. The priest wears two round plastic heads on his chest, which represent a god and a goddess. In his left hand he holds a bunch of plants as a sprinkler, with his right he pours water from a beaker onto a small altar.
The architrave above the central door is divided into three fascias (horizontal stripes). The frieze above is designed by tooth cut , kymation and laterally by curved consoles . On the underside of the lintel, an eagle with spread wings is depicted in the middle. The eagle resembles the one on the lintel of the temple of Bacchus in Baalbek, but the local one holds a flower garland in one of its claws and a palm branch in the other. On the right side there is a relief with a naked boy with wings and a palm branch in his left hand. Next to it a winged goddess of victory with a palm branch in her left hand holds a crown with her right hand over to the boy's head. The same goddess of victory appears on the left lintel.
The inside of the temple consists of a cella , the walls of which are structured with half-columns , and an adyton at the rear end, one meter higher . There were six Ionic half-columns on the side cella walls and two quarter columns placed side by side in the corners. A central staircase leads up to the higher area that once contained the statue of the god. A crypt under the Adyton housed the items required for the religious ritual. Like the Temple of Bacchus, this temple was used for sacrificial cults by initiates.
The great temple was buried by a landslide until the 20th century; at the far end it was buried up to 15 meters, the front stairs were still three feet below the ground. It was uncovered by Syrian archaeologists in the 1950s and extensively restored from 1967 onwards.
A few meters away in the valley floor on the other side of the stream is a smaller temple (Temple B), which was dedicated to the same deities. Its entrance was in the south. It was a simple prostylus temple with four columns in front of it and no vestibule. The pillars stood on Attic bases . The mighty cuboids of the long walls are preserved up to the third layer, as is the staircase in its entire width to the podium. The cella walls inside were unadorned. Remains of the step structure have been preserved from the two meter high Adyton. The small temple is older than the large one, possibly from the 1st century. Since a water channel was led into the interior of the temple, it is assumed that this temple was used for purification rituals and was open to the public.
The archaeological area is fenced and accessible for a fee. On the northern side of the valley, a narrow driveway leads three kilometers further to the temples of Hosn Niha, which are situated on a rocky slope above .
literature
- Daniel Krencker , Willy Zschietzschmann (Ed.): Roman temples in Syria. After recordings and investigations by members of the German Baalbek expedition 1901–1904 and own recordings in 1933 (= Monuments of ancient architecture. 5, text volume, ZDB -ID 535277-0 ). Text tape. de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 1938, pp. 105–121.
Web links
- The Niha village. DiscoverLebanon.com
- The Village of Niha. niha.net.au (music can be switched off below)
- ugo.cn (photos of the temple)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Niha (Zahleh). localiban.org
- ↑ Hadaranes Temple. American University of Beirut (photo from the stream on the Hadaranes Temple)
- ^ Karl-Heinz Bernhardt : The old Lebanon. Koehler & Amelang, Leipzig 1976, Fig. 81: Photo during the reconstruction.