Amrit
عمريت | |
 The Temple of Amrit | |
  Shown within Syria | |
| Alternative name | Amrith, Marathus, Marathos |
|---|---|
| Location | 6 km (3.7 mi) from Tartus, Syria |
| Region | Phoenicia |
| Coordinates | 34°50′20″N 35°54′26″E / 34.8388°N 35.9071°E |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Founded | Third millennium BC |
| Abandoned | c. 148 BC |
| Periods | Phoenician (Persian, Hellenistic) |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1954 |
| Archaeologists | Maurice Dunand |
| Condition | Ruins |
| Management | Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums |
| Public access | Yes |
Amrit (
History
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The city lies on the Mediterranean coast around 6 km (3.7 mi) south of modern-day Tartus. Two rivers cross the city: Nahr Amrit, near the main temple, and Nahr al-Kuble near the secondary temple, a fact that might be linked to the importance of water in the religious traditions in Amrit.[2] The city was probably founded by the Arvadites,[4] an was considered one of the "daughters of Arwad" on the coastline.[5][6] Marathus served as Arwad's continental base,[7] although the port of Arwad in the mainland was Carne.[8][9] It grew to be one of the wealthiest towns in the dominion of Arwad. The city surrendered, along with Arwad, to Alexander the Great in 333 BC.[10] During Seleucid times the town, known as Marathus, was probably larger and more prosperous than Arwad.[11] In 219 BC Marathus gained independence from Arwad, and was later sacked by forces from the latter city in 148 BC.[4] Strabo described Marathus as ruins at his time.[6]
Excavation
Excavations of the site principally began in 1860 by Ernest Renan. Excavations were again carried out in 1954 by French archaeologist Maurice Dunand.[7] Ceramic ware finds at Amrit indicated the site had been inhabited as early as the third millennium BC.[2] Middle and Late Bronze Age "silo tombs" were also excavated, with contents ranging from weapons to original human remains. Excavations at the necropolis south of the town yielded several tomb structures. The funeral art found in some tombs with pyramidal-or cube-shaped towers, is considered some of "the most notable grave-monuments of the Phoenician world."[7] Excavations also uncovered the town's ancient harbor, and a U-shaped stadium that dates back to the 4th and 3rd centuries BC and measures around 230 m (750 ft) in length.[7]
Temples
One of the most important excavations at Amrit was the Phoenician temple, commonly referred to the "ma'abed," dedicated to the god Melqart of Tyre and Eshmun. The colonnaded temple, excavated between 1955 and 1957, consists of a large court cut out of rock measuring 47 × 49 m (154 × 161 ft) and over 3 m (9.8 ft) deep, surrounded by a covered portico. In the center of the court a well-preserved cube-shaped cella stands.[7] The open-air courtyard was filled with the waters of a local, traditionally sacred spring, a unique feature of this site. The temple—which was dated to the late 4th century BC, a period following the Persian expansion into Syria—shows major Achaemenid influence in its layout and decoration. According to Dutch archaeologist, Peter Akkermans, the temple is the "best-preserved monumental structure from the Phoenician homeland."[12]
A second temple, described by visitors to the site in 1743 and 1860 and thought to have disappeared,[7] was later discovered by the Syrian archaeological mission near the Nahr al-Kuble spring.[2]
Stadium
About 200 m (660 ft) northeast of the main temples of ancient Marathos and 180 m (590 ft) north of the Amrit
Necropolis
The Necropolis in the south of Amrit consists of underground burial chambers and two distinguishing burial towers called by the locals "al Maghazil" or The Spindles that stand up to 7.5 m (25 ft) high. The larger tower is composed of a square stone base with a slightly upward tapering cylindrical block with a base diameter of 3.7 m (12 ft), rising to a pyramid as a top termination, which is badly damaged. The second is approximately 12 meters southeast and is not quite 7 m (23 ft) tall. At its base are three cylindrical parts whose diameters decrease and terminate in a dome. At the lower cylinder, to the corners of the square base plates, four lions decorate the building, which may not have been completed.[20] Excavations of the burial chambers east of the towers has uncovered finds dated back as far as the 5th century BC.[21] Plain limestone and clay sarcophagus were found arranged in cassette-like formation within the chambers.[22] Other tombs are located south of the Nahr al-Qubli, the "al-Burǧ Bazzāq" or Worm tower, a phenomenal structure that was originally 19.50 meters high and the Hypogeum "Ḥaǧar al-Ḥublā" with three burial chambers, which were still used in Roman times.[23]
Conservation
Amrit was included on the 2004 and 2006 World Monuments Fund watch lists of endangered archaeological sites. The Fund called attention to the site's rapid deterioration due to vandalism and encroaching development. In 2006 a three-day workshop was organized with participation from the UNESCO, Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums of Syria and local administrators responsible for the sites of Amrit, Tartus and Arwad.[24]
Gallery
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Meghazil tomb, Amrit in 2006 -
Phoenician Temple (Ma'abed), cella at the center of the court, Amrit in 2006 -
Phoenician Stadium, Amrit in 2006
References
Citations
- ^ Head & al. (1911), p. 792.
- ^ a b c d Al Maqdissi, Michel; Benech, Christophe (2009). "The spatial organization of the Phoenician city of Amrith (Syria)". ArchéoSciences. 33 (suppl.): 209–211.
- ISBN 978-1-85828-718-8.
- ^ a b Baedeker, Karl (1876). Palestine and Syria, handbook for travellers. p. 536.
- ^ Renan, Ernest (1864). Mission de Phénicie. Paris: Imprimerie Impériale. p. 20
- ^ a b Strabo, Geographica, 16.2.12 (Greek source and English translation)
- ^ ISBN 978-1-134-15908-6.
- ^ Hill, George Francis (1965). Catalogue of the Greek Coins of Phoenicia. Arnaldo Forni - Editore. pp. xxxviii.
- ^ Renan, Ernest (1864). Mission de Phénicie. Paris: Imprimerie Impériale. p. 55, 97
- ISBN 978-1-134-07634-5.
- ISBN 978-0-8160-5767-2.
- ISBN 978-0-521-79666-8.
- ^ Ernst Honigmann: Marathos (2). In: Wilhelm Kroll (Publisher): Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft. 14.2, Metzler, Stuttgart, S. 1434, p. 65, 1930.
- ^ "Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), MARATHUS".
- ^ Pinkerton, John (1 January 1811). A General Collection of the Best and Most Interesting Voyages and Travels in All Parts of the World: Many of which are Now First Translated Into English ; Digested on a New Plan. Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme ... and Cadell and Davies – via Google Books.
- ^ Mission de Phénicie. TEXTE / dirigée par M. Ernest Renan,... – via gallica.bnf.fr.
- ISBN 978-9004165465– via Google Books.
- ^ ISBN 978-3-7701-3978-1. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
- ^ Dr. Boutros Labib., "The Phoenician stadium of Amrit", The Olympic Review, No. 112, February 1977
- ISBN 978-3-7701-3978-1. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
- ISBN 978-3-406-56244-0, II. Die Levante, p. 23.
- ISBN 978-84-00-08619-0. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
- ISBN 3-525-53899-5, Amrit und Umgebung – B4 (Gräber), p. 204, Göttingen, 2000.
- ^ "AMRIT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE". World Monuments Fund. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
Bibliography
- Head, Barclay; et al. (1911), "Phoenicia", Historia Numorum (2nd ed.), Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. 788–801.
External links
