TheGreat Colonnade at Palmyrawas the maincolonnadedavenue in the ancient city ofPalmyrain theSyrian Desert.The colonnade was built in several stages during the second and third centuryCEand stretched for more than a kilometer (approximately.75 miles). It linked theTemple of Bel,in the southeastern end of the city, to the West Gate and theFunerary Templein the northwestern part.
 Overview of the Great Colonnade | |
  Shown within Syria | |
| Location | Palmyra,Syria |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 34°33′02″N38°16′07″E/ 34.5505°N 38.2687°E |
| Type | Colonnade |
| Length | 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) |
| History | |
| Periods | Roman,Palmyrene |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | restored |
| Ownership | Public |
| Public access | Inaccessible (in a war zone) |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | i, ii, iv |
| Designated | 1980(4th session) |
| Part of | Site ofPalmyra |
| Reference no. | 23 |
| Region | Arab States |
| Endangered | 2013–present |
The colonnade was damaged during theSyrian Civil War,especially when Palmyra was occupied by theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levantfrom May 2015 to March 2016. However, large parts of it are still intact.[citation needed]
Overview
editThe colonnade consists of three sections that were built separately over the course of the second and third century CE. The western stretch of the colonnade is the oldest and started at the West Gate near theFunerary Temple.[1]The eastern section stretched from the Monumental Arch in the center of the town to the entrance of theTemple of Bel.[2]The middle section was built last to connect the two separate colonnades. It met the western stretch at the GreatTetrapylon,and the eastern stretch at the Monumental Arch.[3]
Western section
editThe western colonnade was the first section to be built. Inscriptions found on some columns confirm that works started before 158 CE.[1]The straight avenue ran in northwest-southeast direction and stretched for 500 metres (1,600 ft), the longest of the three sectors.[4]The main avenue's width was 11.7 metres (38 ft) while the side streets were 7 metres (23 ft) in width.[5]The colonnade's western terminus, the West Gate, was built in the late second-century CE. The avenue also connected in a right angle to theTransverse Colonnade[3]which stretched to the Damascus Gate in the south.[6]
Eastern section
editThe eastern sector of the Great Colonnade started at theMonumental Archand stretched in a northwest-southeast direction towards thepropylaeaof the Temple of Bel. Work on the colonnade started after the completion of thepropylaeain 175 CE and continued through the beginning of the third-century CE.[2]This section is the widest of the Great Colonnade with a uniform width of 22.7 metres (74 ft) for the main street and 6.7 metres (22 ft) for the sidewalks.[5]A corner of thetemenosof theTemple of Nebuwas demolished to allow the colonnade an uninterrupted line of sight towards the Monumental Arch from the west and a wider access to the section leading to the Temple of Bel. Anymphaeumwas later added to the eastern colonnade between the Bel and Nebu temples.[2]
Middle section
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The middle colonnade, stretching from east to west, was constructed to connect the two earlier colonnades. Work on the central avenue began from the Monumental Arch, where it met the eastern colonnade, sometime in the early third-century CE. The section stretched until the Great Tetrapylon where it met the western colonnade in an oval plaza. The central colonnade also incorporated the portico of the baths. The central section of the Great Colonnade became the most important with several civic buildings clustered around it, including the caesareum, thetheatre,the baths and the Temple of Nebu.[3]The width of the main street varies from 14 metres (46 ft) at its widest near the tetrapylon, to 10 metres (33 ft) when it reaches the Monumental Arch. The sidewalks also vary in width between 6.3–7 metres (21–23 ft) for the northern sidewalk and 6.8–8.95 metres (22.3–29.4 ft) for the southern one.[5]
Architecture and significance
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The colonnade's early columns, especially in the western stretch, were built using the classicalopus emplectumbuilding technique. The columns consisted of six to eight short sections.[1]This technique was gradually replaced, from the 220s, by what historian Marek Barański termedopus Palmyrenum.[5]The newer technique, seen in the middle and eastern stretches of the colonnade, utilized three long segments instead of the short drums.[1]The technique allowed for significantly faster construction at the time.[5]
TheCorinthian columnswere fitted with decorated brackets that bore dedicatory inscriptions.[7]The brackets were used to hold bronze statues of important figures.[4]Dedicatory inscriptions toZenobiaandOdaenathusdating to between 257 and 267 were discovered on columns set up in front of the theatre.[3]
Gallery
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Sections of the Great Colonnade -
The Monumental Arch linking the east and central sections of the colonnade. -
Sections of the Great Colonnade -
The Great Tetrapylon linking the west and central sections of the colonnade. -
A dedicatory inscription on one of the columns. -
The central colonnade with the Great Tetrapylon looking west. -
Monumental colonnade by night -
The central colonnade with the Monumental Arch looking east. -
Palmyra, Syria. Colonnade, 19th century,Brooklyn Museum
See also
editReferences
editNotes
editBibliography
edit- Barański, Marek (1995). "The Great Colonade of Palmyra Reconsidered".ARAM Periodical.7(1). ARAM Society for Syro-Mesopotamian Studies: 37–46.doi:10.2143/ARAM.7.1.2002216.
- Butcher, Kevin (2003).Roman Syria: And the Near East.Getty Publications.ISBN9780892367153.
- Frances Terpak and Peter Louis Bonfitto."Colonnade Street".The Legacy of Ancient Palmyra.The Getty Research Institute.Retrieved10 February2017.