I Was Told That The Ruins Were Of Large Extent, That
There Were No Columns Standing, But That Large Ones Were Lying Upon The
Ground.
From Beit el Ras I intended again to cross the mountain in order
to see the ruins of Om Keis, and from thence to visit the Djolan.
We were shewn the road from Erbad, but went astray, and did not reach
Beit el Ras. One hour and a half N. by W. of Erbad we passed the village
Merou [Arabic]; from thence we travelled W.N.W. to El Hereimy [Arabic],
two hours from Erbad; and from El Hereimy N.N.W. to Hebras [Arabic],
three hours from Erbad. Hebras is the principal village in the district
of Kefarat, and one of the largest in these countries. It is inhabited
by many Greek Christian families. One hour and a half to the N.E. of it
are the ruins of Abil [Arabic], the ancient Abila, one of the towns of
the Decapolis; neither buildings nor columns remain standing; but I was
told that there are fragments of columns of a very large size.
OM KEIS.
[p.270]May 5th.--I took a guide from hence to shew me to Om Keis, which,
I was told, was inhabited by several families. I there intended to pass
the night, and to proceed the next day to Feik, a village on the E. side
of the lake of Tabaria. In half an hour from Hebras we passed the spring
Ain el Terab [Arabic], in a Wady, which farther to the north-westward
joins the Wady Szamma, and still lower down unites with the Wady Sheriat
el Mandhour. At one hour and a quarter to our right was the village
Obder [Arabic], on the banks of Wady Szamma, which runs in a deep
ravine, and half an hour farther north-west, the village Szamma
[Arabic]. The inhabitants of the above villages cultivate gardens of
fruit trees and all kinds of vegetables on the side of the rivulet. The
villages belong to the district of Kefarat. To the left of our route
extends a country full of Wadys, called the district of Serou [Arabic],
to the southward of which begins that of Wostye [Arabic]. At one hour
and a half to our left, distant half an hour, we saw, in the Serou, the
village Faour [Arabic]. Between Hebras and Szamma begins the Wady el
Arab [Arabic], which continued to the left parallel with our route; it
is a fertile valley, in which the Arabs Kelab and others cultivate a few
fields. There are several mills on the water-side. Our route lay W. by
N. and W.N.W. across the Kefarat, which is uneven ground, rising towards
the west, and is intersected by many Wadys. At the end of three hours
and a quarter we reached Om Keis [Arabic].
Om Keis is the last village to the west, in the district of Kefarat; it
is situated near the crest of the chain of mountains, which bound the
valley of the lake of Tabaria and Jordan on the east. The S. end of the
lake bears N.W. To the N. of it, one hour, is the deep Wady called
Sheriat el Mandhour, which is, beyond a doubt, the Hieromax of the
Greeks and Jarmouk of the Israelites.
To the south, at the same distance, flows the Wady el Arab,
[p.271]which joins the Sheriat in the valley of El Ghor , not far from
the junction of the latter with the Jordan. I am doubtful to what
ancient city the ruins of Om Keis are to be ascribed.[It was probably
Gamala, which Josephus describes as standing upon a mountain bordered by
precipices. Gadara appears from the authorities of Pliny and Jerom to
have been at the warm baths, mentioned below, on the north side of the
Sheriat el Mandhour; Gadara Hieromiace praefluente. Plin. Nat. Hist.
l.i.c.18. Gadara, urbs trans Jordanem contra Scythopolin et Tiberiadem,
ad orientalem plagam, sita in monte, ad cujns radices aquae calidae
erumpunt, balneis super aedificatis,--Hieron. in Topicis.]
At Om Keis the remains of antiquity are very mutilated. The ancient town
was situated round a hill, which is the highest point in the
neighbourhood. To the east of the hill are a great number of caverns in
the calcareous rock, some of which have been enlarged and rendered
habitable. Others have been used as sepulchral caves. Great numbers of
sarcophagi are lying about in this direction: they are all of black
stone, which must have been transported from the banks of the river
below: the dimensions of the largest are nine spans in length by three
in breadth; they are ornamented with bas-reliefs of genii, festoons,
wreaths of flowers, and some with busts, but very few of them are of
elegant wor[k]manship. I counted upwards of seventy on the declivity of
the hill. On the summit of the hill are heaps of wrought stones, but no
remains of any important building: on its west and north sides are the
remains of two large theatres, built entirely of black stone. That on
the W. side is in better preservation than the other, although more
ruined than the theatres at Djerash. The walls and the greater part of
the seats yet remain; a tier of boxes intervenes between the rows of
seats, as at Djerash, and there are deep vaulted apartments beneath the
seats. There are no remains of columns in front of either theatre. The
theatre on the north side of the hill, which is in a very dilapidated
state, is remarkable for its great depth,
[p.272]caused by its being built on a part of the steepest declivity of
the hill; its uppermost row of seats is at least forty feet higher than
the lowest; the area below the seats is comparatively very small. From
these two theatres the principal part of the town appears to have
extended westwards, over an even piece of ground at the foot of the
hill; its length from the hill was at least half an hour.
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