Historical Imagery - Dumeir: IWM German First World War Official Exchange Collection

The Imperial War Museum in London includes a group of photographs obtained by exchange from Germany after the First World War of places photographed by their personnel in the Palestine Front region: the GERMAN FIRST WORLD WAR OFFICIAL EXCHANGE COLLECTION.

This one (Q 86279) is labelled as ‘The Old Temple near Amman”. That is plainly incorrect and the environment suggests somewhere with modern use of mud-brick. Thanks to Rebecca Banks’ sharp eye, the correct identification is a temple - still well-preserved (till recently at least), at Dmeir/Dumeir northeast of Damascus.

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205330314

Ross Burns describes the monument in the following passage from 'Monuments of Syria':

"It was dedicated as a temple to Zeus Hypsistos in 245 during the reign of the Emperor Philip the Arab (Emperor 244-9) who was born in the Hauran region of Syria (*Shahba)... There may thus have been some changes of plan during the long construction period. An earlier altar dedicated to the Semitic deity, Baal-Shamin, in AD 94 (now in the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris) indicates that a Nabataean religious building previously stood on the site.

The genesis and original purpose of the building are not clear. The shape is highly unusual. Construction may have commenced as a public fountain or as a staging post on the intersection of two important caravan routes (hence the quadrilateral plan and four entrances). Perhaps it was even an elaborate triumphal arch... The argument for seeing it as a temple, at least in its final form, is underlined by the use of corner towers and staircases giving access to the roof for ritual purposes in the Syro-Phoenician tradition... It was fortified in the Arab period; the arch on the rear wall [seen in this photograph] remains completely filled in with stones and defensive devices." 

Ross Burns (1999) Monuments of Syria: an historical guide (Rev. ed.), I. B. Tauris Publishers: London, New York: 115-116.

You can see more recent photographs of the site on the Ross Burns' website of the same name.

Photographs of the condition of the site after a period of bombardment in the current civil war can be seen on the website of the Association for the Protection of Syrian Archaeology.

-DLK

Flight 20141028: Endangered Archaeology – Yajuz

Yajuz in 1998. © APAAME_19980517_DLK-0031.

Yajuz is a small town of the Roman period lying about 10 km (sld) from the centre of Roman Philadelphia (Amman). Excavation has revealed three churches with mosaic pavements, several major residential buildings, an area with major wine presses and a large tomb nearby. The full extent is unclear but is probably 15-20 hectares. A major settlement in the hinterland of Philadelphia, probably one of several but unusual in that it has not been overlain by the expansion of Amman.

The Roman highway from Philadelphia to Gerasa (Jarash) passes by its eastern fringe (Blue). The road has been well-known for over a century and numerous milestones have been recorded. The first stage of about 10 Roman miles is now hard to trace amongst the rapid recent sprawl of Amman and many of the milestones have been broken up, buried or pushed away by development. Yajuz itself seemed safe, protected by its status as a site excavated extensively over many years and marked by boards set up by the Department of Antiquities of Jordan.

Google Earth screen capture of Yajuz site with areas of interest indicated.

In the last decade that status has come under threat as massive new housing projects have sprung up all around, major highways have sliced past making it an attractive commuter suburb and the price of land has continued to soar. APAAME’s flying programme – Aerial Archaeology in Jordan, has regularly monitored the site, a task made easier by its proximity to a regular route for us returning to the airfield at Marka. In 2010 we singled the site out as a place that deserved special protection and development as a tourist destination (Kennedy and Bewley 2010: 199-201).

New Apartment blocks at 'A'. © APAAME_20141029_DLK-0503.

Houses at SE corner of Yajuz at 'B'. © APAAME_20130414_RHB-0468.

It is clear the site is being slowly but steadily eaten away by development. The blue-roofed building which had already intruded into the site over a decade ago has now – since April 2013, been joined by a two large blocks of apartments (A). At the southeast corner two houses were cut into the site several years ago (B). Now another house is being constructed cutting into the north edge (C).

House in North of site at 'C'. © APAAME_20141029_DLK-0512.

Unless steps are taken immediately, Yajuz will join the catalogue of other small towns around Philadelphia, still notable ruins in the 19th and early 20th century which are now largely lost. 

- David Kennedy

Kennedy & Bewley (2010) 'Archives and Aerial Imagery in Jordan', in Cowley, Standring and Abicht (Eds) Landscapes through the Lens, Oxford: 193-206.

Petition: Protection for Syria's Cultural Heritage

The British Association for Near Eastern Archaeology (BANEA) has launched a petition seeking protection for Syria's cultural heritage.

We hope you can sign it, support it and promote it through any contacts or avenues available to you.
http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Save_Syrias_Cultural_Heritage_1/?fPWGUcb&pv=1

The pdf of 'Damage to the Soul: Syria’s Cultural Heritage in Conflict' can be downloaded here: http://ow.ly/bNSk1

TEXT of the petition:
Save Syria’s Cultural Heritage The worsening situation in Syria places thousands of archaeological sites in immediate danger of current and future looting. A full discussion of the sites affected can be found here: Cunliffe, Emma. 2012, Damage to the Soul: Syria’s Cultural Heritage in Conflict. 16 May 2012. Global Heritage Fund. The British Associate of Near Eastern Archaeology (BANEA) and other interested parties call on the British Government, UNESCO and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) to protest to all parties to the conflict and petition for:
1. The removal of armed encampments, troops and weaponry from archaeological sites,
2. protection of archaeological sites and museums from looting,
3. recovery of stolen artefacts and the prosecution of the thieves and those who benefit from the thefts.

Updates and information can be found at www.banea.org

Jan Picton
Secretary, Friends of the Petrie Museum. www.petrie.ucl.ac.uk
Teaching Fellow, Institute of Archaeology, UCL. j.picton@ucl.ac.uk
Deputy Director, Gurob Harem Palace Project, www.gurob.org.uk