Serjilla ( ar, سيرجيلة) is one of the best preserved of the
Dead Cities in northwestern
Syria, containing about 700 sites. It is located in the
Jebel Riha
Mount Zāwiya ( ar, جبل الزاوية, Jabal az-Zāwiyah) or Mount Rīḥā ( ar, جبل ريحا, Jabal Rīḥā) (also in medieval times: Banī-ʻUlaym Mountain ( ar, جبل بني عليم, Jabal Banī-ʻUlaym) is a highland region in Idlib ...
, approximately 65 km north from
Hama
Hama ( ar, حَمَاة ', ; syr, ܚܡܬ, ħ(ə)mɑθ, lit=fortress; Biblical Hebrew: ''Ḥamāṯ'') is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provinci ...
and 80 km southwest from
Aleppo, very close to ruins of another "Dead City",
Bara.
The settlement arose in a natural basin and prospered from cultivating of
grape
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry (botany), berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non-Climacteric (botany), climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of ...
s and
olive
The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...
s. A
bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
complex indicates the wealth of the community. Unusually, it was built in 473, already during the time of Christianity. Thomas Joseph Shanan considered Serjilla as "Christian Pompeii".
History
Charles-Jean-Melchior de Vogüé, a French archaeologist, did the first scientific studies in 1860s. In 1899, an
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...
team from
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...
discovered a large
mosaic
A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
on the main hall floor, but it had disappeared when the team returned six years later. Traces of now destroyed murals were found on the walls as well. Next to the baths stands an ''
andron
Andron ( grc, Ἄνδρων) is the name of a number of different people in classical antiquity:
*Andron of Alexandria, a writer whose work entitled ''The Years'' (Χρονικὰ) is referred to by Athenaeus around the late 2nd century BCE.
* of ...
'', a meeting place for men. Further east, there was a small church but not much remains of it. Among ruins of numerous residential houses, a two storey
villa
A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...
which still stands today. In two lower rooms, one can still see an
arch
An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it.
Arches may be synonymous with vau ...
which supported the ceiling. This feature was typical in the Dead Cities. Behind the villa, there is a sunken building with an
olive press. In Serjilla, limestone-mining was a very common and mature industry, even the empty space left by mining activities were useful, sometimes mining took place right under the buildings.
Like most other of the Dead Cities, Serjilla was abandoned in the seventh century when the
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
s conquered the region and discontinued merchant routes between
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...
and
Apamea.
In 2011, because of the Syrian civil war, UNESCO put Serjilla on the list
World Heritage in Danger.
Gallery
File:Idlib, Syria, Dead Cities, Serjilla.jpg, Sarcophaguses
File:Idlib, Syria, Dead Cities, Serjilla 2.jpg, Arch of the church
File:Idlib, Syria, Dead Cities, Serjilla, Gate.jpg, Walls and gate
Image:Serjilla-2storey-villa.jpg, Two storey villa
Image:Serjilla 02 - Village baths.jpg, Public baths
Image:Serjilla_05_-_Church.jpg, The church
Image:Serjilla_06_-_Press-house.jpg, The press-house
References
External links
Simeon Citadel and Dead Cities Suggestion to have Serjilla recognized as a UNESCO world heritage site, in 2006, as part of "Simeon Citadel and Dead Cities"-project.
{{Use British English, date=November 2010
Archaeological sites in Idlib Governorate
Former populated places in Syria
Dead Cities
Byzantine baths