As-Suwayda-Sana
The National Archaeological Excavation Mission in As-Suwayda revealed during the survey and documentation work for the current season at the archaeological site of Majdal Al-Shor in the countryside of As-Suwayda, the presence of two- to five-storey multi-storey buildings in this site located on the southeastern edge of Jabal Al-Arab and on the edge of the Badia steppes.
The head of the excavation and archaeological studies mission in the As-Suwayda Department of Antiquities Khaldoun al-Shamaa explained to SANA that the site of Majdal al-Shour, which is located on a rocky mass of gradual heights exceeding 10 dunums, about 7 km to the east of the town of Arman, dates back to the Roman period and was a Roman camp where the At that time, the distribution of sectors to the Roman soldiers after the wars was a reward for them.
Al-Shamaa indicated that this site represents an integrated village with all its coordinates, ancient archaeological buildings, service and administrative dwellings, and drainage channels, pointing out that the mission began archaeological survey work at the site from its northern borders, where traces of a group of completely destroyed buildings appeared, stretching from west to east, with a width ranging between 15 and 25 meters, so that the basalt stones, which varied between elaborately trimmed and randomly trimmed, were piled on top of each other at heights exceeding 2 meters.
According to the candle, traces of the extension of walls have emerged among these accumulations that define architectural spaces that varied between halls, corridors and small rooms, indicating that these buildings varied between residential and comprising on their ground floor a group of rooms designated for raising livestock distributed around a heavenly space topped by living and sleeping rooms on the one hand. Others show the service buildings that were in the form of warehouses for storing materials and products. They consisted of several floors, with a rectangular plan whose width does not exceed 2 to 2.5 meters.
Al-Shama’a pointed out that the two previous types are added to the edifice buildings indicated by the remains of its high walls. On the southwestern borders of the site, it is noted that there are two ponds that were holding rainwater in them and they were used as a main source to supply the site with water, indicating that starting from the middle of the site and along the direction from east to west The ancient buildings with different floor heights, starting from one floor up to 5 floors, are distributed on the sides of the straight streets, which appeared in the form of alleys ranging in width between 2.5 and 3 meters.
As for the decorative elements that have an architectural function, such as columns, crowns, and ornate windows, the candle indicated that they were rare on the site, so that only a few examples of them were noticed, and they were found in one of the modern houses adjacent to the site.
Al-Shama’a pointed out that the ancient ancient houses that were built on both sides of the straight streets indicate the importance of this place, as the visitor to Majdal Al-Shur sees the ruins of houses, including an old house with two front sections consisting of two floors and a high main hall and a rear of 4 floors in addition to old houses It gathers around an inner courtyard, where it includes two attached and independent houses on two floors, and their gate is closed by a stone door with two doors. To the south of the courtyard are 3 residences that turn their backs to the courtyard, and to the south of the courtyard are a group of rooms distributed over two floors or one floor with an external staircase.
It is noteworthy that the archaeological site of Majdal al-Shur was in the fourth century AD, despite its small area, inhabited by a large population density, and a large number of ancient archaeological ponds and antiquities dating back to different eras were found.
Suhail Hatoum
