The Inside Of
The Front Wall, As Well As The Round Wall Of The Area, Is Richly
Ornamented With Sculptured Ornaments.
The roof, which once covered the
whole building, has fallen down, and choaks up the interior in such a
way as to render it difficult to determine whether the edifice has been
a palace, or destined for public amusements.
Nearly opposite the
theatre, to the northward of the river, are the remains of a temple (k),
the posterior wall of which only remains, having an entablature, and
several niches highly adorned with sculpture. Before this building stand
the shafts of several columns three feet in diameter. Its date appears
to be anterior to that of all the other buildings of Amman, and its
style of architecture is much superior. At some distance farther down
the Wady, stand a few small columns (i), probably the remains of a
temple. The plain between the river and the northern hills is covered
with ruins of private buildings, extending from the church (c) down to
the columns (i); but nothing of them remains, except the foundations and
some of the door posts. On the top of the highest of the northern hills
stands the castle of Amman, a very extensive
[p.360] building; it was an oblong square, filled with buildings, of
which, about as much remains as there does of the private dwellings in
the lower town. The castle walls are thick, and denote a remote
antiquity: large blocks of stone are piled up without cement, and still
hold together as well as if they had been recently placed; the greater
part of the wall is entire, it is placed a little below the crest of the
hill, and appears not to have risen much above the level of its summit.
Within the castle are several deep cisterns. At (m) is a square
building, in complete preservation, constructed in the same manner as
the castle wall; it is without ornaments, and the only opening into it
is a low door, over which was an inscription now defaced. Near this
building are the traces of a large temple (n); several of its broken
columns are lying on the ground; they are the largest I saw at Amman,
some of them being three feet and a half in diameter; their capitals are
of the Corinthian order. On the north side of the castle is a ditch cut
in the rock, for the better defence of this side of the hill, which is
less steep than the others.
The ruins of Amman being, with the exception of a few walls of flint, of
calcareous stone of moderate hardness, have not resisted the ravages of
time so well as those of Djerash. The buildings exposed to the
atmosphere are all in decay, so that there is little hope of finding any
inscriptions here, which might illustrate the history of the place. The
construction shews that the edifices were of different ages, as in the
other cities of the Decapolis, which I have examined.
I am sensible that the above description of Amman, though it notices all
the principal remains, is still very imperfect; but a traveller who is
not accompanied with an armed force can never hope to give very
satisfactory accounts of the antiquities of these deserted countries. My
guides had observed some fresh horse-dung near the water’s side, which
greatly alarmed them, as it was a proof that
SZAFOUT
[p.361] some Bedouins were hovering about. They insisted upon my
returning immediately, and refusing to wait for me a moment, rode off
while I was still occupied in writing a few notes upon the theatre. I
hastily mounted the castle hill, ran over its ruins, and galloping after
my guides, joined them at half an hour from the town. When I reproached
them for their cowardice, they replied that I certainly could not
suppose that, for the twelve piastres I had agreed to give them, they
should expose themselves to the danger of being stripped and of losing
their horses, from a mere foolish caprice of mine to write down the
stones. I have often been obliged to yield to similar reasoning. A true
Bedouin, however, never abandons his companion in this manner; whoever,
therefore, wishes to travel in these parts, and to make accurate
observations, will do well to take with him as many horsemen as may
secure him against any strolling party of robbers.
About four or five bours S.S.W. from Amman are the ruins called El Kohf
(Arabic), with a large temple, and many columns. About eight hours
S.S.E. is the ruined city of Om el Reszasz (Arabic), i.e. the Mother of
Lead, which, according to all accounts, is of great extent, and contains
large buildings. In my present situation it was impossible for me to
visit these two places. I hope that some future traveller will be more
fortunate.
We returned from Amman by a more northern route. At one hour and three
quarters, we passed the ruined place called Djebeyha (Arabic); in two
hours the ruins of Meraze (Arabic). The hills which rise over the plain
are covered to their tops with thick heath. At two hours and a half are
the ruins of Om Djouze (Arabic), with a spring. Sources of water are
seldom met with in this upper plain of the Belka, a circumstance that
greatly enhances the importance of the situation of Amman. At three
hours and a half is
SZALT
[p.362] Szafout (Arabic), where are ruins of some extent, with a spring;
the gate of a public edifice is still standing. To the north and north-
east of this place, at the foot of the mountain on which it stands,
extends a broad valley called El Bekka (Arabic); it is extremely
fertile, and is in part cultivated by the people of Szalt, and the Arabs
of the Belka. The Beni Szakher had burnt up the whole of the crops
before they concluded peace with Szalt.
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