#bucrania

[thecrankyprofessor]

[classicalmonuments]

Temple of Salim

Salim/Slem/Slim, Hauran, Syria

2nd/3rd century CE

temple of medium size. The building faced the east. The south parastade, or anta-wall, which is extremely thick, and in which there were a small, stone- roofed chamber and a stair, is preserved to a height of over 3 m. The northeast angle of the opposite parastade is preserved to its full height of over 12 metres. 

The remainder of the temple plan is to be traced only in foundation walls that are almost hidden in fallen building stones. The temple was set on a high podium with rich base mouldings. Its plan is most unusual; for the anta-walls project very far, and are thick enough to contain chambers. Between these antae were two pairs of columns. The ends of the antae are provided with two pilasters, the inner ones 0.81 m. wide to correspond with the columns, the outer pair 1.16 m. wide. 

The wide pilasters were reproduced along the flanks of the temple, six on a side, and upon the rear wall. The interior plan is much more difficult to extricate from the debris. There are certainly two piers which carried a transverse arch over the middle of the cella. At the west end there is an apse, or niche, 2.65 m. wide, with a narrow chamber beside it on the north, and, presumably, a similar chamber on the south. Among the ruins at this point are drums of several columns of smaller scale than the exterior columns, and these I have placed in front of the west wall in the manner already seen in the interior of the Tychaion at is-Sanamen. The podium is perfectly preserved below the two parastades; between them there is no sign of a wall but only a depression filled with debris. 

It must be that a flight of steps ascended at this point; but this leaves no footing for the two columns which stood between the antae- pilasters to carry the entablature above. Among the debris here I found a cap, like the top of a pedestal, with mouldings like the cap of the podium. It was not in place, but lay nearly in line with the two pilasters. In the restoration of the facade I have used this cap as a basis for supplying two tall pedestals for the outer columns. Within these; according to my restoration, the steps ascend, broken by two shorter pedestals to carry the two other columns of which there are numerous fragments.

Sources: 1, 2, 3

[lucysskeleton]

Garlanded bucrania on a frieze from the Samothrace temple complex (known as the Sanctuary of the Great Gods), Arsinoé rotunda

[classicalmonuments]

Parthian monument

Epehsus, Turkey

2nd century CE

The Parthian monument was a monumental altar in the town of Ephesus on the third quarter of the 2nd century CE. I was built in honour of Caesar Lucius Verus, and named “Parthian” for the Parthian wars depicted on one of its friezes. Apart from this frieze the monument also shows the adoption of L. Verus, his “apotheosis” personifications of towns of the Roman Empire and the meeting of the gods.

The building seems to have been destroyed systematically during the Early Christian period and the relief slabs of the friezes were reused for various purposes. Today most of the reliefs are exhibited in the Ephesosmuseum in Vienna. 

The location of the Parthian monument, which was erected by the town of Ephesus in honour of the triumphant victor against the Parthians Caesar Lucius Verus, has concerned the scholars greatly;

The architectural form of the Parthian monument is still very hypothetical. Only the slabs of two iconographical zones survive. One contains narrative scenes and the other is decorated with bucrania and garlands. Archaeometric studies showed that the monument’s reliefs were carved on dolomitic marble, possibly from Thasos. Some indications relating to the dimensions of the entire building can be discerned by a reconstruction of the relief friezes. Thus, according to the proposal by W. Oberleitner, the length of the frieze with the narrative themes reached 70 m. Of these, around 45 m., i.e. 2/3 of the slabs survive in good condition and are exhibited. Certain slabs have been identified as corners and have been placed at the beginning or the end of the monument’s walls. Judging by these, the largest part of the relief decoration covered the building’s exterior. The slabs have a height of approx. 2 m. and are defined at their top end by a tripartite – sometimes quadripartite– horizontal cornice. A total of 24 slabs survive from the decorative frieze with the bucrania and the garlands.

The most common reconstruction of the monument is that of an altar with an U-shapedground plan which stands on a tall socle. The socle basically supports a spacious courtyard at the center of which the main altar was placed, surrounded by a colonnade. Access to the altar’s courtyard was allowed via a monumental staircase on the open side. The reliefs decorated the high socle on two levels.

compare with other monumental altars: Syracuse , Magnesia, Pergamon

[thecrankyprofessor]

A beautiful base - possibly a plinth for a statue - Augustan period. The Museum thinks perhaps a statue of Hercules, given the find site along the Tiber near Castel SantAngelo.

[signal-failure]

Bucrania! You don’t get to use that word in casual conversation very often. #tagamemnon #classics #classical #ancients #bucrania #instadaily #potd

[effleuree]