Roman fort, Umm er-Rasas
Umm er-Rasas photo tour, part 3: the military fort at the Limes Arabicus, built end of the 3rd / beginning of the 4th century, converted into a civil quarter.
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The southern of the twin churches, built in the late 6th / early 7th century. View of the mono apse, partially cut off from the inside side of the city wall, with a mosaic floor.
The mosaic floor of the apsed presbyterium is relatively intact. The area is decorated with a unified central composition with a semicircle on the eastern side enclosed in a guilloche. The semicircle has an outlined orthogonal pattern of adjacent hexagons forming squares and is divided by a line from a rectangular area decorated with vine scrolls. These are on two sides of a central palm tree which is growing from a vase. In the eight scrolls are the figures of two-peacocks facing the palm, two winged creatures, two lambs, a third animal and a rosette motif. The headsof the two lambs were destroyed during the construction of the altar. The surround along the wall in the apse is decorated with six adjacent circles , bordered on the west by two small grids.
(From: Michele Piccirillo, pages 393/394)
© Photo: Haupt & Binder
Umm er-Rasas photo tour, part 3: the military fort at the Limes Arabicus, built end of the 3rd / beginning of the 4th century, converted into a civil quarter.
By Michele Piccirillo
A large format, cloth-bound volume with 383 pages, 874 illustrations, including aerial views of many of the sites and plans of most of the structures which have mosaics.
American Center of Oriental Research, Amman, Jordan. First edition in 1993.
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