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THE

Excavations at Dura-EuroposCONDUCTED BY Y A L E UNIVERSITY AND T H E FRENCH ACADEMY OF INSCRIPTIONS A N D L E T T E R S

F I N A L R E P O R T VIII, P A R T IIEDITED B Y

C. Bradford Welles

N E W H A V E N DURA-EUROPOS PUBLICATIONS Distributed by

J. J . A U G U S T I N P U B L I S H E R , L O C U S T V A L L E Y , N E W Y O R K

1967

It is intended to issue eight Final Reports, as follows:I. H I S T O R Y ; II. A R C H I T E C T U R E A N D T O W N P L A N N I N G ; III. TIONS, ARMOR; PARCHMENTS A N D P A P Y R I ; V I . COINS; VII. SCULPT U R E , F I G U R I N E S , A N D P A I N T I N G ; I V . M I N O R F I N D S ; V . INSCRIPARMS AND

VIII. T H E SYNAGOGUE, M I T H R A E U M , A N D CHRISTIAN C H A P E L . These will be issued in parts as they are completed and, within the separate Reports, the parts will be numbered in order of appearance. Already issued: IV, P A R T I, F A S C I C L E I. Nicholas Toll, T H E G R E E N I V , P A R T I, F A S C I C L E II. Dorothy Hannah Cox, I V , P A R T II. R . Pfister and Louisa Bellinger, T H E

FINAL REPORT FINAL REPORT FINAL REPORT TEXTILES. FINAL REPORT

GLAZED POTTERY. T H E G R E E K AND ROMAN POTTERY.

IV, P A R T III. P . V . C. Baur, T H E L A M P S . F I N A L R E P O R T I V , P A R T I V , F A S C I C L E I. Theresa G . Frisch and N . P. Toll, T H E P I E R C E D B R O N Z E S ; T H E E N A M E L E D B R O N Z E S ; T H EFIBULAE. FINAL REPORT VESSELS. FINAL REPORT

I V , P A R T V . Christoph W . Clairmont, T H E G L A S S

V , P A R T I. C. Bradford Welles, Robert O. Fink, and J . Frank Gilliam, T H E P A R C H M E N T S A N D P A P Y R I . F I N A L R E P O R T V I . A . R . Bellinger, T H E COINS. F I N A L R E P O R T V I I I , P A R T I. Carl H . Kraeling, T H E S Y N A G O G U E . rights reserved 1967, by Dura-Europos Publications Printed in Germany at J. J.Augustin, Glficlcstadt AllAll rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form (except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress catalog card number: A 43-2669

The Christian BuildingBy C A R L H . K R A E L I N G f

with a contribution

by

C.BRADFORD WELLES

NEW

HAVEN DURA-EUROPOS PUBLICATIONS Distributed by

J. J. A U G U S T I N P U B L I S H E R , L O C U S T V A L L E Y , N E W Y O R K

1967

r

CONJUGI CARISSIMAE AMICIS

FIDELISSIMAE

ADJUVANTIBUS D. D.

PREFACE OF T H E EDITORMy assumption of this role was not entirely voluntary. With the departure, however, of the previous Editor, Dr. Ann Perkins, to assume more properly academic duties as Associate Professor of the History of Art at the University of Illinois, I had no choice, all the less as my close friend, Professor Kraeling, was readying the present manuscript. From the summer of 1965, therefore, I took over the position de facto and am now gratified that the University regularizes the situation by granting me the title of Director of Dura Publications. M y responsibilities extend also to the Dura files, negatives and records, and to the antiquities of Dura housed in the Yale Art Gallery. With the generous recognition and support of the University authorities at all levels, I hope to be able to fill in some degree the gap left by Miss Perkins and by death or absence of my other colleagues among those to whom Rostovtzeff dedicated his D t t r a - E u r o p o s and its A r t . In this connection, I cannot fail to mention that if continued use and publication of the Dura materials is now possible, it is due only to the devotion and industry and imagination of Miss Perkins during her years of service at Yale. When she arrived, the collections had been moved twice and were in disorder, the work of her valued predecessors, Mrs. Mary Nettleton Haight and Dr. Nicholas Toll, having been interrupted and left incomplete. They are now in order, (a Herculean task), so that even the uninitiated can find his way about with a minimum of difficulty; and the future of Dura studies is assured. In addition, Miss Perkins fitted into her teaching schedule a number of courses on Dura, and several manuscripts i n preparation, awaiting revision, or in almost publishable shape, are the results of her leadership and inspiration. The next volumes in this series will be due to her. It is appropriate for me to express thanks to those who, by their financial contributions, have made this volume possible. I may mention Mrs. Robert Woods Bliss in first place, a generous patron of scholarship and a friend of Professor Kraeling of many years standing. Equally generous have been two institutions with which Professor Kraeling was long associated, Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies and the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Their contributions are a welcome recognition of the scholarly worth of our Dura series. I may name also as patrons Professor Robert L . Calhoun, Mrs. Prescott W. Townsend, and Mr. Chester Dudley Tripp. To all of these, all who are associated with Dura must be deeply grateful. I should like, also, to mention my gratification at continuing to be associated with Mr. J . J . Augustin, whose kindness and practical grasp of the problems of publication are alike infinite, and whom I value as a friend equally as much as a publisher. It is sad, however, to observe that as I write this, the ill-health which has beset Professor Kraeling over the past months has not improved. This sadness is, however, colored with pride and admiration for his courage and steadfastness in pursuing his study of the Christian Building at Dura even under conditions of pain and weakness. As a scholar and as a person, he has earned the highest respect of all who have been associated with him during this trying period.1

C. B R A D F O R D W E L L E S

New H a v e n , 29 October

1966

x. Professor Kraeling died on the 14th of November, 1966, two weeks after the manuscript went to press. I do not need to emphasize how keenly I feel his loss, both personally and professionally. For generous assistance in reading proofs I have to thank Professor and Mrs. A. Henry Detweiler, Associate Dean of the School of Architecture, Cornell University, and a member of the Dura Expedition from 1935 to 1937; 2 Professor Ernst Kitzinger of Harvard.an "rift AoOpas-Epwiro, Nea Sion X X X I (1936), PP- 5 571937 : J- P- Kirsch, " L a Domus Ecclesiae cristiana del III. secolo a Doura-Europos in Mesopotamia", Studi d e d i c a l i a l l a m e m o r i a d i P a o l o U b a l d i (Milan, 1937), pp. 73-82. H . Lietzmann, review of Rep. V, Gnomon X I I I (1937), pp. 224-237. W. Seston, "L'glise et le baptistre de Doura-Europos", Annales de l'cole des hautes-tudes de G a n d (1937) pp. 161-177. J . Pijoan, "The Parable of the Virgins from Dura-Europos", A r t B u l l e t i n X I X , 4 (December, 1937). PP- 592-595 1938: M . I. Rostovtzeff, D u r a - E u r o p o s a n d i t s A r t , (Oxford, 1938), pp. 130-134. C. Watzinger, "Die Christen Duras" Theologische Bltter X V I I I (1938), pp. 117-119. H . Grgoire, "Les baptistres de Cuicul et de Doura", B y z a n t i o n X I I I (1938), pp. 589-593. 1939: A . Ferrua, "Dura-Europo cristiana", Civilt c a t t o l i c a anno X C , vol. 4 (1939). PP- 334~347J . Quasten, "Das Bild des Guten Hirten in den altchristlichen Baptisterien und in den Taufliturgien des Ostens und Westens, P i s c i c u l i ( A n t i k e u n d C h r i s t e n t u m , Ergnzungsband, I, Mnster, 1939). PP- 220-244. H . Grgoire, "Encore les baptistres de Cuicul et de Doura", B y z a n t i o n X I V (1939), p. 317. 1940: J . P. Kirsch, " L a basilica cristiana nell'antichit", A t t i del I V . congresso i n t e m a z i o n a l e d i a r c h e o l o g i a c r i s t i a n a , I (Rome, 1940), pp. 113-126. U. M. de Villard, L e chiese dlia M e s o p o t a m i a (Rome, 1940), pp. 64f. 1941: R. duMesnil du Buisson, " U n symbol du ciel infrieure: le croissant boulet", B u l l , de l a socit n a t i o n a l e des a n t i q u a i r e s de F r a n c e (1941), pp. 240t. 1942: E . Mle, Rome et ses v i e i l l e s glises (Paris, 1942), pp. 46-50. Il C. R. Morey, E a r l y C h r i s t i a n A r t (Princeton, 1942), pp. 65f. 1946: A . Grabar, M a r t y r i u m , Vol. II (Paris, 1946), esp. pp. 10; 110, n. 1; 250t.; 261-265; 308, n. 2. 1947: C. Hopkins, "The Christian Chapel at Dura-Europos", St. Joseph's L i l l i e s X X X V I , 2 (June, 1947), pp. 127-133. J . Lassus, Sanctuaires chrtiens de S y r i e , Bibliothque archologique et h i s t o r i q u e Vol. X L I I (Paris, 1947), pp. 10-19. J . Quasten, "The Painting of the Good Shepherd at Dura-Europos", M e d i a e v a l Studies I X (Toronto, 1947), pp. 1-18. 1953 : J . Villette, "Que reprsente la grande fresque de la maison chrtienne de Doura" ? RB L X (1953), pp. 398-413. 1954: R. Louis, " L a visite des saintes femmes au tombeau dans le plus ancien art chrtien, "Receuil publi l ' o c c a s i o n du c e n t - c i n q u a n t e n a i r e de l a socit n a t i o n a l e des a n t i q u a i r e s de F r a n c e (Paris, 1954), PP- 109-122. 1956: A. Grabar, " L a fresque des saintes femmes au tombeau a Doura", C a h i e r s archologiques V I I I (Paris, 1956), pp. 9-26. 1957: C. Cecchelli, "Per una comprensione intgrale dlia iconografia cristiana", Actes du Vme.congrs i n t e r n a t i o n a l d'archologie chrtienne (Rome, 1957) PP- 37 379K. Weitzmann, "Narration in Early Christendom A r t " , A JA L X I (1957). PP- 83-91.2 2 8 : 2_ I_

xxii

BIBLIOGRAPHY

xxiii

1958: E . Dinkier, "Dura-Europos III, Bedeutung fr die christliche Kunst", RGG 3. ed., Vol. II (1958). coll. 290-292. R. Eissfeldt, "Dura-Europos", RfAC I V (1958), coll. 362-367. 1959: R. du Mesnil du Buisson, "Inscriptions sur jarres de Doura-Europos", M e l a n g e s de l'Universit S a i n t Joseph X X X V I (1959), PP. 39 f1961: R. Minchin, Outward a n d V i s i b l e (London, 1961), pp. 23-58. 1963: C. Delvoye, "Baptisterium" in R B K I (1963), col. 461. 1964: A . von Gerkan, "Zur Hauskirche von Dura-Europos", M u l l u s , Festschrift Theodor K l a u s e r , R f A C , Ergnzungsband I (1964), pp. 143-149. 1965: R. Krautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture (Pelican History of Art, Baltimore, 1965). Forthcoming: A. Grabar, B e g i n n i n g s of C h r i s t i a n I c o n o g r a p h y (A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts, Bollingen Series, X X X V , Vol. 10).

\

PART I

DESCRIPTION

THE

STRUCTURE

I. L O C A T I O N A N D G E N E R A L D E S C R I P T I O N O F T H E C H R I S T I A N B U I L D I N G The Christian B u i l d i n g of Dura-Europos stands at the northwest corner of the insula designated B l o c k M 8 on the C i t y P l a n (Frontispiece), at the intersection of W a l l Street a n d Street 3. I t is located, therefore, i n the immediate shadow of the city's western defenses, directly behind Tower 17 a n d o n l y a block south of the M a i n Gate (PI. I , 1). The section (Blocks M i - M 8) of D u r a i n w h i c h the property lies was largely residential i n character. T h i s is indicated b y the plans of the buildings excavated i n their entirety and b y the w i d t h of doorways recorded where excavation was Hmited to the clearance of the building lines at either side of the c i t y streets i n the area (Plan II). Exceptions are the R o m a n B a t h erected between A . D . 210 and 215 upon the site of earlier private houses at the northwest corner of B l o c k M 7, and the small but venerable shrine of Zeus K y r i o s set against the inner face of Tower 16 before the street grid had been extended i n this direction. W h i l e b y the t h i r d century of our era most of the section h a d been built u p , there still remained at this time several parcels of l a n d that were undeveloped structurally. T w o such are the areas J a n d K immediately south of the Christian B u i l d i n g and fronting o n W a l l Street. These h a d i n R o m a n times been taken over b y the m i l i t a r y for storage, muster and b i l l e t i n g . Indeed, i t is l i k e l y that i n the period t o w h i c h the Christian B u i l d i n g belongs m a n y of the private houses i n the sections north and south of the M a i n Gate had also been taken over b y the m i l i t a r y t o house resident officers of the garrison.1 2 3 4

In outward appearance and form the Christian B u i l d i n g at D u r a is quite indistinguishable from most of the other structures of the city. I t s m u d plastered, m u d brick and rubble walls, t y p i c a l l y devoid of external architectural ornament, blend perfectly w i t h a n d continue uninterruptedly those of the other buildings i n the c i t y block t o which i t belongs. The walls define a series of flat-roofed and hence box-like rooms grouped around a central courtyard (Plan V I I ) . I n character the structure is simply a t y p i c a l private house of D u r a , modified slightly t o adapt i t to religious use ( F i g . 1). The entrance is unobtrusive, a n ordinary doorway leading i n from Street 3 at the northeast corner of the building (Plan V). This gives upon a vestibule (Room 8) that is i n effect a short corridor leading t o the right and, b y a n arched opening i n its left wall, t o the central courtyard (Room 1). The obstacle which the vestibule poses t o a n immediate view into the interior of the building by the relative position of i t s outer a n d inner openings, affords a n element of p r i v a c y to life w i t h i n its walls as elsewhere throughout the city. Spacious a n d paved w i t h tiles l a i d i n an orderly fashion, the central courtyard (Room 1) is the area from w h i c h a l l major chambers are accessible and through w h i c h therefore circulation i n the interior tends t o proceed. T o w a r d the east the element of spaciousness is emphasized b y a portico (Room 2), whose roof is supported b y two plaster-coated rubble columns that stand on a low stylobate. O n the other three sides the court is enclosed b y the interior walls of the rooms grouped about i t . Steps lead up from i t t o the more important doorways a n d L-shaped sections of rubble benches are set against the enclosing walls i n the northwest and southwest corners. In the w a l l at the south side of the court a formally molded doorway gives upon the largest room of the building, R o o m 4. This is a sizable h a l l running east and west, lighted a n d aired b y windows at the west a n d north, carefully finished

M 7 see Rep. VI, pp. 84-90, 102-104. On the Temple ofZeus 2. Plan 3.

1. On the known private houses in Blocks M 7 and M 8 see R e p . V I , pp. 140-187. On the Roman Bath in Block Kyrios see R e p . V I I V I I I , pp. 284-309. PI. II. 2. For the location of area K , not shown on II here, see R e p . V I , PI. V I . On the evidence from installations and inscriptions

see Rep. VI, pp. 174-178. ibid., pp. 265-308.

4. So Rostovtzeff in R e p . V I , p. 503. The clearest example is the House of the Roman Scribes in Block L 7,

3

4

DESCRIPTION: THE STRUCTURE

FIG. I T H E CHRISTIAN B U I L D I N G . SIMPLIFIED G R O U N D P L A N

w i t h plaster so far as its walls and floor are concerned, but devoid of unusual structural features i n elevation and devoid also of painted w a l l or ceiling decorations. This was the A s s e m b l y H a l l of the Christian community, a fact made evident b y its o n l y installation, a l o w platform set against its short eastern end wall, where the presiding officer of the community sat or stood. A t the right of this dais an irregular mass of plaster with an aperture at the top provides for the emplacement of some object. A t the left a p l a i n door opens into a

small dark room (Room 3) i n the southeast corner of the building, a room that seems to have h a d no other provisions for access, light or air, but could have served a v a r i e t y of practical purposes, especially those of storage. I n the w a l l at the west of the courtyard another door w i t h molded t r i m leads into the second largest r o o m of the building ( R o o m 5). It is quite as hall-like as R o o m 4 because of the height of its ceiling, almost equally as wide, but little more than half as long as the Assembly H a l l . H e r e again there

PRESERVATION ANDSTRUCTURAL PHASESare windows, at least toward the court, but the walls have only a coarse m u d coating and the floor has only the t y p i c a l beaten earth finish. Doors i n the end walls connect the room w i t h the adjacent chambers to the south (Room 4) and to the north ( R o o m 6). T h a t to the north has a carefully molded frame, suggesting that R o o m 5 is the formal means of access to R o o m 6. The relatively small R o o m 6 i n the northwest corner of the building, w i t h doors not only from R o o m 5 b u t also from the courtyard, is clearly the most important chamber i n the whole establishment. Its western end is occupied b y a massive installation consisting of two elements. T h e first element is a large rectangular basin solidly built of tiles covered w i t h mortar. Though the bottom of the basin is below floor level, its sides rise above floor level to a height sufficient to require the interposition of a rubble step between the floor and its upper r i m . T h e second element is a heavy vaulted canopy surmounting the basin, constructed of tiles and rubble and arched at the front and at the sides. R u b b l e columns support i t toward the interior of the r o o m and pilasters toward the w a l l against which it is set. The well-paved floor of the r o o m lies only slightly above the level of the courtyard and the low ceiling is set at no more than two-thirds of the rise of the house walls, providing space above for a n upper chamber. T h e r o o m h a d along its eastern end a low plastercoated rubble bench, and, attached to its south wall, between the two doorways, a ledge or table of similar construction. I n the wall between the

5

doors there is a large round-headed niche. Walls, ceiling and the canopy over the basin were painted in their entirety, the walls w i t h pictorial compor sitions representing B i b l i c a l events and figures, the ceiling and the canopy w i t h decorative designs. The room is therefore elegant and ornate, partic u l a r l y i n contrast to the unadorned simplicity of the other chambers of the building. T h a t i t served cultic purposes is obvious, the only question being what those purposes were. T h e answer depends naturally on the interpretation of the massive installation at the west end of the room. This is here interpreted as a font and the room, therefore, as a Baptistery. Relevant facts and another interpretation are considered below.1

In the w a l l framing the courtyard at the n o r t h there are located between the small doorway to the Baptistery (Room 6) and the arched opening from the vestibule (Room 8) two further apertures. The one farthest to the east is a doorway that gives upon a staircase whose successive flights of steps, set around a central pier, fill the stairwell (Room 7 A ) and lead to the U p p e r R o o m over the B a p tistery (Room 6) and generally to the roof of the building. The one toward the west is an archway opening upon an alcove or closet (Room 7 B ) formed i n the area of the stairwell b y the rise a n d return of the stairs. Its height decreases r a p i d l y toward the interior i n accordance w i t h the p i t c h of the staircase. Such, then, is the Christian B u i l d i n g at D u r a briefly described.

II.

PRESERVATION A N D STRUCTURAL PHASES dations remain. This state of affairs is matched i n the entire zone along W a l l Street and derives from the defensive measures taken b y the R o m a n garrison to protect the c i t y w a l l against Sassanian siege a n d sapping operations. These defensive2

The preservation of the Christian B u i l d i n g is a study i n contrasts. Its outer west wall stood, when excavated, at its full height, w i t h even the coping of the roof intact, more than 5.00 m . above floor level and about 7.00 m . above bed rock (Plan I I I ) . F r o m this height the line of preservation decreases sharply toward the east, amounting to no more t h a n about 0.20 m . above floor level i n the eastern t h i r d of the building. B e y o n d , destruction is even more complete, so that of the neighboring house at the east (House B i n B l o c k M 8) only the foun1. See below, p.

2. The offensive and defensive procedures employed by the contending forces and their effects are described in

Rep.

VI, pp. 188-205, Rep. V I I - V I I I ,

pp. 43-48 and

separately by Du Mesnil du Buisson, Mmoires de l a Socit N a t i o n a l e des A n t i q u a i r e s de F r a n c e , L X X X I (1944), pp. 5-60. Their effect upon the preservation of the buildings along Wall Street, as illustrated by the Dura Synagogue, have been noted in F i n a l R e p o r t , VIII, 1, pp. 4I

6

DESCRIPTION: THE STRUCTUREP l a n I I , . a n d their gradients on P l a n V I I . T h a t some measure of disagreement should exist between observers w i t h respect to details of the construct i o n and function of the small rooms along the eastern part of the Christian Buflding is understandable considering the ruthless destruction to which these rooms were subject. B u t any u n certainty that m a y persist i n this connection on i n d i v i d u a l points, while regrettable, is of no major consequence. The basic p l a n of the Christian B u i l d i n g , its floor-level features a n d circulation, are firmly established throughout; and at the west, where the most important cultic installation existed a n d where also the only room decorated w i t h w a l l paintings was located, a l l essential features are defined, even i n elevation, a n d preservation is relatively good, thanks to the embankments i n which the walls were buried a n d b y which t h e y were protected. E x c a v a t i o n s conducted below floor level i n the more important parts of the Christian B u i l d i n g provided additional information bearing upon the history of the parcel of l a n d occupied b y i t a n d upon the successive steps i n its development. T h e y revealed some of the original elements a n d installations of the private house before i t was adapted to Christian use. T h e y showed that i n the period before the erection of this private house a part of the site h a d been occupied b y a n earlier dwelling whose building lines were unrelated to those dictated b y the city's street grid. T h e y gave evidence of the association of different types of pottery w i t h the bedding a n d the foundations of the two successive structures. T h e y indicated h o w ground level h a d risen during the earlier phases i n the use of the:site. A l l of this information, none of which was available when the P r e l i m i n a r y Report on the Christian B u i l d i n g , was being prepared' a n d when the first accounts of the monument were published, gives a m u c h clearer picture of the circumstances, the process, and the date of the creation of the Christian B u i l d i n g . T h e slight modifications required of views previously held are unimportant compared w i t h the greater assurance provided on. crucial points a n d w i t h the settlement of controversial issues. The predominant interest-in the Christian use of the site dictates the procedure followed here i n describing these structures i n detail, namely that of

measures were not everywhere the same, but i n the area of the Christian B u i l d i n g and from there northward comprised three steps. The first consisted of filling up W a l l Street to the height of the c i t y wall's sentry-go a n d of erecting inside the adjacent houses a m u d brick embankment that served to support their western walls against the thrust of the fill. The purpose of this operation was to strengthen the c i t y w a l l a n d the procedure followed was conservative, for the houses were left standing, a n d the defenders apparently expected to remove the encumbering fill a n d embankment once the. danger of a siege h a d passed. The second step, more radical i n character, i n v o l v e d the application of a second embankment to the first, which, carried across W a l l Street at a higher level, provided the c i t y wall w i t h a wider sentry-go a n d permitted the heightening of the w a l l a n d the addition of new parapet courses to it. This required the sacrifice of the buildings i n the entire zone affected, only those portions of their walls being left standing that l a y w i t h i n the gradient of the two embankments. T h e third, still more drastic, created an open p l a c e d'armes behind the line of the embankments, where h a n d to h a n d conflict could be continued should the c i t y wall have been breached. This necessitated razing to their v e r y foundations the rest of the houses i n the blocks between W a l l Street and Street A , the material of their roofs, walls a n d floors being applied to the creation of the second embankment before i t was covered b y a coating of m u d bricks. The application of these defensive procedures is the measure of both the preservation a n d the destruction of the several parts of the Christian Buflding, depending upon their p r o x i m i t y to and remove from the W a l l Street l i n e . H o w m u c h was left standing a n d how m u c h destroyed can readily be seen on the isometric rendering of the standing remains that is P l a n I I I . T h e outer limits of the two successive embankments are recorded on1

i . South of the Christian Building, in areas J and K of Block M 8, the protective installations consisted of a succession of massive individual buttresses set against the city wall (PI. II, i). For a general description of the different installations in Blocks M 7 and M 8 and for Hopkins' explanation of their change in character, see R e p . V I , pp: 179-181. For a detailed description of the embankments directly over the Christian Building see von Gerkan's statement in R e p . V I I - V I I I , pp. 44 f.;

THE

P R I V A T E H O U S E AND

ITS A D A P T A T I O N

7

considering the archaeological remains i n the reverse of their historical succession. T o keep the several phases a n d elements apart, different terms w i l l be used for each of the three building periods. The building of the latest period, that of the structure completely adapted to the uses of the Christian community, w i l l be referred to as the Christian B u i l d i n g . The same structure i n its

earlier phase, prior to its adaptation to Christian use, w i l l be designated the P r i v a t e House. T h e birilding erected on the site before the P r i v a t e House w i l l be called the E a r l i e r Dwelling. Since the Christian B u i l d i n g is i n fact only an adaptation of the P r i v a t e House, it w i l l be advantageous to consider b o t h under the heading: the P r i v a t e House a n d its A d a p t a t i o n .

III.

T H E P R I V A T E HOUSE AND

ITS A D A P T A T I O N

A . Materials andL i k e most other structures at D u r a the P r i v a t e House that became the Christian B u i l d i n g was built of m u d b r i c k above a n d of rubble work below. T h e extent of. the rubble substructure is shown i n F i g . 2 a n d illustrated e.g. on P I I X , 1. Beginning w i t h foundations set into trenches dug down to b e d rock through the fill covering the site, the rubble masonry was l a i d i n successive courses each c a . 0.60 m . h i g h a n d t y p i c a l l y between 0.80 and 0.85 m . wide, that is, slightly wider than the brick superstructure. E a c h rubble course h a d firm inner a n d outer faces that were constructed of undressed stones held i n position b y mortar containing a liberal amount of gypsum plaster and that were t i e d together at the top b y a heavy layer of plaster, b u t i n the cores the filling of the courses h a d as a binder m u d w i t h only a slight admixture of gypsum.1

Construction

To give strength to the structure as a whole, the rubble work was carried u p w a r d above the foundations i n courses of the same general height a n d construction to various levels. Of the walls around the perimeter of the building, for instance, the one at the west h a d one rubble course more t h a n those at the n o r t h a n d south,- this to protect the fabric of the structure against the rising accumulation of sand a n d refuse i n W a l l Street a n d to guard1. The rubble stylobate of the portico (Room 2) at the east end of the courtyard and the rubble portion of the entrance wall of Room 5 at the west of the courtyard are both 0.90 m. wide, while the party walls between Room 6 and Room 7B, between Rooms 3 and 4 and between the vestibule (Room 8) and the portico (Room 2) have rubble work only 0.40 m. wide.

against water seepage from the street into the interior. H e r e too the corners of the building were found to have been strengthened b y rubble cubes set on the extra course a n d f o n n i n g term i n a l piers. I n the interior, rubble w o r k was stepped u p w a r d above foundation level at either side of doorways to the level of the lintels, where i t supported the poles that spanned the opening of the doorway (PI. V I I I , 1.) W a l l s pierced b y doorways set i n close p r o x i m i t y to each other were built solidly of rubble to the lintels a n d that between Rooms 7 A a n d 7B, around which the steps of the staircase were set, was presumably of rubble construction to the level of the roof. Columns also were fashioned of rubble a n d so naturally, too, the stylobate of the portico (Room 2). D o o r openings were spanned b y poles imbedded in rubble, the stone or plaster t r i m being added later. A r c h w a y s , such as those leading from the vestibule (Room 8) to the c o u r t y a r d a n d from the courtyard to R o o m 7 B , were fashioned b y placing undressed stones i n files along the inner and outer rims of a temporary wooden form, setting t h e m i n plaster a n d incorporating the rings i n a large mass of rubble.2

On t o p of this solid rubble construction the walls were continued to their predetermined height in m u d brick. T h e bricks used were square a n d2. The effects of such seepage caused by the natural rise in the level of Wall Street can be seen for instance in the Dura Synagogue in the damage done to the northern end of the Infancy of Moses scene. See F i n a l R e p o r t , VIII, 1, PI. L X V I I I and p. 169.

8I K

DESCRIPTION: THE STRUCTURE

FIG.

2

about o . i o m . thick. T h e y were so fashioned that they could be l a i d one, one a n d a half, two, a n d two a n d a half to the tier, a n d were set i n gray m u d mortar (Plan V I ) . R e d d i s h i n color, they were made of a clay t a k e n from the desert soil, a n d are somewhat harder a n d slightly thicker t h a n the gray m u d brick also i n use elsewhere i n the c i t y . Their exterior appearance a n d the presence of m a n y small air pockets i n t h e m suggests that t h e y may have been fired briefly. T h e y were l a i d i n

accordance w i t h standard procedure, so that vertical joints line up i n alternate courses,. half bricks being used to accomplish this purpose where necessary. T o tie the brick work together even more firmly layers of reeds were l a i d across the thickness of the w a l l at every seventh or eighth course. H o w the building was roofed is k n o w n i n full detail. T h e roofs h a d as their major supporting members transverse beams bedded i n rubble

THE P R I V A T E HOUSE A N D ITS A D A P T A T I O Nmasses set into the brick w o r k (Fig. 3). U p o n t h e m were laid at right angles smaller rafters, the ends of which rested on a step i n the wall half a brick wide. R e e d mats, plaited i n long strips, were placed upon this grid of poles, their outer

9

divided horizontally between the B a p t i s t e r y and the upper room when the P r i v a t e House was adapted to Christian use. T h a t at the east, i n the area of Rooms 8, 2 a n d 3, ceilings were lower is suggested b y the diameter of the column drums assigned to the portico ( R o o m 2). A p p l y i n g the standard proportions a height of approximately 4.00 m . is indicated for the portico and that of the vestibule m a y have been even less.2

FIG.

3

E x c e p t for a zone around the door openings that was crudely plastered, the walls of the Private House exposed to the weather were coated w i t h the same m i x t u r e of m u d and chaff or chopped straw that is still i n use i n the villages of the N e a r East. T h i s was carried up and over the coping at the top of the walls and showed no signs of ever having been patched or renewed. Inside, the same wall coating was used, except, originally, i n two instances, namely R o o m s 4 A a n d 4 B . These were coated w i t h gypsum plaster. W h e n the P r i v a t e House was adapted to Christian use, R o o m 6, the Baptistery, was also plastered and R o o m 4 received a second t h i n coating that incident a l l y covered certain earlier graffiti but was i n fact an extension of the p a t c h required b y the removal of the p a r t y w a l l between R o o m s 4 A and 4 B.

edges extending the w i d t h of a full brick beyond the ends of the rafters. The mats, rafters and beams supported a layer of sandy earth at least one b r i c k high that was rolled and graded to give a slight p i t c h t o w a r d the exterior before being overlaid w i t h a layer of plaster. A row of halfbricks, rising above the level of the roof along the outer faces of the walls, formed the coping. This was interrupted at intervals b y drains that projected sufficiently to throw the r a i n water clear of the walls.1

B . Size and

Shafte

The plot of l a n d upon w h i c h the P r i v a t e House was erected measures 17.35 m . at the south, 17.45 m . at the north, 18.58 m . at the west and 20.18 m . at the east. T h o u g h more quadratic t h a n m a n y other building lots i n the city, i t is a c t u a l l y a trapezoid whose sides meet at right angles o n l y i n the. interior of the block, at the southeast corner of the property (Plan I V ) . Since the parcel of l a n d formed the corner of an insula i n a c i t y whose blocks were defined b y regularly intersecting streets, its departure from the rectangular along its street frontage m a y seem strange. The irregularity is due to a combination of two circumstances. The first is that the lines of the city's street grid, their course originally defined i n the small Hellenistic nucleus of the city, were seen not to be aligned w i t h the c i t y2. See below, p. II

Ceiling level probably v a r i e d i n the several parts of the building. A t the west the preservation of the perimeter w a l l of the house to the top of its coping (PI. V , 1) fixes the height of the ceiling above the floor i n the interior of Rooms 4 and 5 at 5.22 m . I n R o o m 6 it was probably the same originally, but here the available space was1. The same construction is still in use in the villages of Syria, save that planks commonly replace the matting. It usually suffices to roll the roof after the first rain of the season to make it tolerably waterproof.

10

DESCRIPTION: T H E STRUCTURE1

wall when extended to the perimeter of the site i n R o m a n times. If, therefore, the street immediately behind the c i t y wall (Wall St.) was to be kept at a standard w i d t h , the western side of the insulae fronting upon i t would necessarily have a diagonal course and each block, corners that were alternately obtuse and acute angles. T h e second circumstance is that at D u r a the city w a l l itself does not r u n i n a single straight line, but departs south of the M a i n Gate from the direction followed north of the gate (Frontispiece). This increases the angles at which north-south a n d east-west streets meet at the northwest corners of the last insula i n sections M and N . I n B l o c k M 8, i n the corner lot occupied b y the P r i v a t e House that became the Christian B u i l d i n g , the angle is 94 30", a fact w h i c h i t is important to note i n correction of v o n Gerkan's oft-repeated statements that the house h a d no irregular angles and that the expedition produced no plans of the Christian B u i l d i n g comparable i n value to his o w n . A s dwellings go at D u r a , the P r i v a t e House is a structure of no mean size. There were a few m u c h larger establishments, for instance the so-called House of the Large A t r i u m i n B l o c k D i , b u t the great majority was decidedly smaller. A c t u a l l y , the building was comparable i n the size of the lot it occupied to that used for the earlier of the two successive synagogues b y the Jewish c o m m u n i t y of D u r a . N o r d i d the trapezoidal shape of the lot on0 2 3 4

which i t was built give the House excessive irregularity i n i t s internal organization a n d features. A i m i n g , naturally, t o fill the lot entirely and thus t o continue existing building lines, the architect placed the more important rooms a n d features of the House along the southern, western and eastern sides of the property, thereby imparting to them the regularity of this part of the lot. Its irregularities were t a k e n u p at the north, where the architect placed a l l the less important rooms a n d features, including the room (Room 6) which later became the Christian Baptistery.

C.

T h e Vestibule

Demolition of the structure i n the period preceding the siege of D u r a has dealt harshly w i t h the eastern part of the P r i v a t e House. A l l that remains here are the stubs of the perimeter walls, i n which, near the east end of the north wall, the door sill of the entrance was found imbedded (Plan I I I , PI. V I I , 2.) The sill rises only about 0.30 m . above the level of Street 3 which here runs at a height of about 0.40 m . above d a t u m . T h e sill shows that the door opening was 1.30 m . wide, and marks upon i t s surface, indicating the position of the jambs, prove that the frame narrowed this to 1.06 m .5

1. This is by no means unusual in Hellenistic cities, since the course of the defensive walls and the alignment of the streets were determined each by their own requirements. See A . von Gerkan, G r i e c h i s c h e Stdteanlagen (Berlin, 1924), pp. 128!; R. Martin, L ' u r b a n i s m e d a n s l a Grece a n t i q u e (Paris, 1956), pp. i2of. On the location of the Hellenistic nucleus of insulae at Dura see M . Rostovzeff, D u r a - E u r o p o s a n d i t s A r t (Oxford, 1938), Kg- 5. P- 3 5 2. See the N a c h t r a g to his article in R Q as reprinted in his collected essays edited by E . Boehringer, V o n a n t i k e r A r c h i t e k t u r u n d T o p o g r a p h i e . (Stuttgart, 1959), p. 232. His criticism of the sketch plan of the Christian Building published in R e p . V as PI. X X X I X is justified only to the extent that this preliminary drawing repeated the obtuse angle at the northwest corner of the building also at the southeast, turning the structure into a parallelogram. Though he had had the opportunity meanwhile of being informed of the existence of Pearson's drawings published herewith, von Gerkan has repeated his criticisms in the Klauser Festschrift, M u l l u s , JfA C, Ergn-

Two l o w plastered steps let into the reveal floor, in the upper of which the sockets a n d the lock bar hole of the door were preserved, l e d down into the vestibule (Room 8). This is i n effect a corridor running from east t o west, 5.68 m . long, 2.50 m . wide at the east a n d slightly wider at the west. H o w its walls were finished is u n k n o w n . E v e n the floor disappeared, b u t the reason for this is revealed b y a series of large holes set horizontally i n the outer house wall immediately below floor level (PI. I l l , 2). These holes derive from the emplacement of the beams that once supported the vestibule floor, a n d i t was the removal of these beams b y the demolition crew that l e d t o the5. Datum in all figures dealing with levels in the Private Hose is the level of the plastered courtyard floor (Room 1). There is no indication that the door sill had ever to be raised because of a rise in the level of the street. Such changes are frequent elsewhere, particularly along Wall Street, where the accumulation of sand arid refuse was more rapid. For an example see House A in Block L 7, Rep.- V I , Pis. X I and VII, and pp. 274!

zungsband I (1964), p. 143.3. See R e p . I V , Plan IV. 4. The rectangular parcel of land on which the earlier synagogue stood in Block L 7 measured 21.50 m. by 15.50 m. See F i n a l R e p o r t , VIII, 1, p. 26 and Plan VIII.

THE

P R I V A T E H O U S E A N D ITS A D A P T A T I O N

ii

rooms set about i t , one each i n front of the doors to Rooms 5 and 6, two to the staircase at the north (Room 7 A ) a n d t w o to the largest a n d most important doorway at the south, the entrance to R o o m 4 A . I n the northwest corner the court had as its only other feature a g y p s u m slab 0.85 m . square w i t h a small circular aperture i n the center (Plans I V and V I I , P i s . I V , 1 a n d X V I , 1). A heavy bedding of plaster held this slab firmly The interior of the house was entered from the i n place over a bottle-shaped cesspool carefully constructed of rocks a n d plaster, the open bottom vestibule b y a doorless opening at the west end of its interior (south) wall. This was 1.75 m . wide, of which goes d o w n to 3.20 m . below courtyard that is, wider than the door to the street, a n d level (Plan V I I , Section I). The installation is, of course, the latrine of the P r i v a t e House. I t cororiginally was arched at the top as elements of a rubble arch found i n t h e debris indicate. T h e responds to those found elsewhere i n the houses of arched entry leads b y two low steps to the court- D u r a . Identical installations are still i n use i n the remoter hamlets of the Orient today, serving as the y a r d (Room 1). only piece of what we would call "sanitary equipm e n t " for t y p i c a l domestic establishments. T h e D. The Courtyard fact that i n this instance i t was set outside of the The courtyard of the P r i v a t e House is the entrance to R o o m 6 underlines what has been central hypaethral feature t y p i c a l of the archi- said about the relative unimportance of t h a t tecture of D u r a i n both its domestic and religious room i n the original arrangement of the premises. A t some time after the original construction structures. I n this instance i t h a d been l a i d out of the P r i v a t e House, the courtyard underwent a w i t h some care, for the walls enclosing i t at the east, south and west meet approximately at right certain amount of modification (Plan V ) . Cinders angles, and the south and west sides of the court are were spread evenly over its earth a n d plaster each 7.70 m . long, a fact that m a y have contributed floor and on top of this bedding was l a i d a covering to the impression of regularity that t h e interior of tiles 0.195 m . square, arranged i n a n orderly made u p o n the visitor entering from the vestibule. pattern. This operation raised court level o . 08 m . The only departure from this regularity is that above d a t u m a n d covered the lower of the t w o provided b y the northwest corner, where the north steps leading down from the Vestibule (Room 8) wall, set parallel to the course of Street 3, meets a n d u p to the flight of stairs i n R o o m 7 A . I t also covered the single step leading u p t o the entrance the west w a l l at a n obtuse angle, and b y virtue of its diagonal course gives to the north side of the to R o o m 6. A second feature of the modification was the introduction of plastered rubble benches, court a length of 8.55 m . commonly 0.50m. wide a n d 0.42m. high, r u n Here we meet the first clear indications of the ning along the enclosing walls a n d b u i l t i n t w o building's adaptation to the purposes of the ChristL-shaped sections. One of these occupies the ian community. I n its original character as part of southwest corner of the court, extending from the the P r i v a t e House the courtyard h a d only the doorway to R o o m 4 to the doorway of R o o m 5. t y p i c a l surface of r e d earth liberally sprinkled The other, i n the northwest c o m e r of the court, w i t h d r y plaster a n d beaten h a r d b y d a i l y use. begins at the doorway to R o o m 5. T h e other, i n R u b b l e steps mounted from its floor at d a t u m the northwest corner of the court, begins at the level t o the sills of the doors of the more important1 2 3 4

destruction of the floor. B u t the erstwhile existence below the vestibule floor of beams supporting i t reveals one additional fact, namely that the vestibule had underneath i t a cellar. A s found the cellar was, of course, entirely filled w i t h earth and rubble. E x c a v a t i o n showed that the fill was slightly less than 1.50 m . deep and produced fragments of several broken o i l jars, such as might well have n o r m a l l y been stored i n the cellar.

1. For other examples see R e p . V I , PL X I (House of the Roman Scribes) and F i n a l R e p o r t , VIII, 1, PI. VIII, 2 and Fig. 9 on p. 27 (Synagogue). 2. How the cellar was entered will appear later. See p. 14.

3. See e.g. Houses A, B, C, D , E , H , I in Block L 7, F i n a l R e p o r t , VIII, 1, Plan II. 4. The cesspool contained only about a cubic meter of accumulated deposit, in surprising contrast to those of other private houses in the city.

12

DESCRIPTION: THE STRUCTUREdoor t o R o o m 4 (Nos. 6, 7 and 8) and one o n the left j a m b of the door to R o o m 6 (No. 15). One additional text was inscribed o n a plaster a n d rubble fragment found loose o n the floor of the courtyard (No. 1). Most of the texts were alphabetic and hence probably apotropaic i n character; one was an acclamation hailing the "one G o d i n heaven".3

doorway to R o o m 5 a n d continues along the entire north enclosing w a l l as far as the arched entry from the Vestibule (Room 8). A t the n o r t h it covered the second of the steps leading into R o o m 7 A . The rise of the bench was sufficiently high so that new rubble and plaster steps h a d to be placed i n front of it, leading up to and over it to Rooms 6 and 7 A .1

These changes i n the courtyard are associated w i t h each other, for the tile p a v i n g extends only as far as the foot of the benches, not under them, and both features are properly to be understood as a part of the procedure adapting the Private House t o the purpose of Christian religious usage. This is because the tile paving, covering and putting out of use the cesspool w i t h its pierced stone cap, necessarily p u t an end to the use of the building for domestic and residential purposes and marks its transformation into a m a i s o n sacre. Further, the paving served t o dignify the courtyard, accomodating i t to formal use. A t the same time the benches, whose purpose can be clarified only i n connection w i t h that of other installations, betoken the occasional presence i n the courtyard of groups larger than the t y p i c a l f a m i l y . .2

A t lintel level the south w a l l of the court has at the right of the door leading to R o o m 4 one additional feature still t o be mentioned. I t is a niche about o. 30 m . wide and of indeterminate height, contrived i n the w a l l b y the omission of. halfbricks (Plans I V a n d V I I . Section III). O u t of reach even from the door sill, i t m a y have been intended as the emplacement i n the P r i v a t e House of a device or image prophylactic i n function or connected w i t h the domestic c u l t .4

E. T h e PorticoA t the east, the tile paving of the courtyard abuts against a solid line of rubble masonry some o . 90 m . t h i c k that sets off an area bounded farther to the east b y the perimeter w a l l of the house a n d at the south and north b y the walls of Rooms 3 and 8 (Plan I V ) . The area is designated R o o m 2. The interior measurements are 8.90m. at the west, 9.15 m . at the east, 2.68 m . at the south and 2.65 m . at the north. The demolition of the entire superstructure i n this part of the building made i t n a t u r a l for M . Pillet, who first began work here i n 1930-31, to infer that the rubble masonry separating the area from the court was but the foundation of a brick superstructure originally extending upwards to ceiling level, a n d thus enclosing a room of the house. The interpretation fingered to puzzle H o p k i n s and has a distant echo i n v o n Gerkan's description of the b u i l d i n g . Meanwhile Deigert's examination6 6

The walls enclosing the courtyard are best preserved around its western half, beginning at the right of the door t o R o o m 4 A and continuing t o the central pier of the stairwell (Room 7 A ) . T h e y showed clearly the t y p i c a l construction of rubble courses stepped up to the level of the door lintels, surmounted b y m u d brick carefully l a i d i n courses and covered w i t h a layer of m u d and chaff mortar (Pl. I V , 1). G y p s u m plaster was used only to cover the t r i m of the doorways a n d the wall surfaces immediately around the door frames. O n these plastered surfaces seven informal inscriptions were found preserved, six i n Greek and one i n Syriac. T w o were at the left of the door t o R o o m 5 (Nos. 2 and 3), two were at the right of the door to R o o m 4 (Nos. 4 and 5), three were o n the right jamb of the1. The rubble benches were largely removed when the courtyard was explored below the level of its paving, but one piece in the northwest corner of the court can be seen in position on Pl. IV, 1. 2. On the possible function of the benches see below, p. 155. There is no system of drainage from the paved court, rain water being no doubt absorbed by the bedding of cinders upon which the tiles rest, nor was there any trace of a latrine in any other part of the adapted building.

3. For the texts see below, pp. 89-97. 4. See von Gerkan, R Q , X L I I (1934), P 5. R e p . I V , p. 12. The room in question is that designated Room E in Pillet's account. See Fig. n , below, p. 228. Expecting eventually to find the entrance to the building near its still unexcavated northwest corner, he regarded Room F (here Room 8) as the only means, of communication between Room E and the court (his Room A). 6. For Hopkins' comments see R e p . V, pp. 243 f.; von Gerkan's suggestion that a room had once existed here2 2 2

THE P R I V A T E H O U S E A N D ITS A D A P T A T I O Nof the building i n 1931-32 and the careful study b y Pearson i n 1933-34 demonstrated that the w a l l was i n fact the stylobate of a portico, a n interpretation adopted also b y v o n Gerkan. Several facts confirm this finding. One is that a n area of such modest w i d t h (2.68 m.) would not have required toward the court foundations 0.90m. wide unless these h a d been intended as a stylobate bearing columns of a relatively large diameter. A second is that the eastern end of the first step leading d o w n into the court from the Vestibule ( R o o m 8) extended over a n d upon the surface of the western enclosing w a l l of the area of R o o m 2, demonstrating that this d i d not rise above courty a r d level. A t h i r d is the appearance of recesses i n the top of the stylobate wall, at distances 2.26 m . from its southern end a n d 2.25 m . from its northern end, w h i c h can best be understood as m a r k i n g the emplacements of the blocks serving as plinths and bases for columns. The fourth a n d last is the discovery b y Pillet of column drums found re-used at the west side of the courtyard, t o block the doorway leading into R o o m 5.1 2

13

a long history at D u r a as a feature of its domestic architecture. N a t u r a l l y , the full peristyle o r quadriporticus, though represented at D u r a b y early a n d late examples, is n o t common a n d particularly rare as a feature of domestic construction. B u t single columns or pairs of columns supporting a portico on one side of a c o u r t y a r d are common features of private houses a n d appear even i n small temples such as the Dolichenaeum. There being nothing whatsoever t o show that the portico of this P r i v a t e House was a secondary feature of construction, i t must be assumed to have been built as a n integral part of the whole. O n l y two observations need t o be made i n this connection, namely first that the diameter of the column drums found on the premises argues against a portico height of more t h a n c a . 4.00 m . , a n d second that i n the P r i v a t e House the portico probably w o u l d have served such utilitarian purposes as cooking a n d storage. N a t u r a l l y , when the Christian c o m m u n i t y used t h e building exclusively for its own purposes, the function of the portico w i l l have changed.3 4

H o w the floor of the portico was p a v e d is W h i l e the portico of the buflding m a y have proven quite as useful t o the Christian c o m m u n i t y unknown. T h e entire area between i t s outer (eastern) w a h a n d the stylobate was found filled of D u r a as the narthex came eventually t o be for the communities using basilical churches, i t is not i n , b u t there is no telling when the fill was made necessary t o suppose a n d would indeed require and whether i t h a d ever h a d more t h a n a surface special evidence t o show that i t h a d been added of beaten earth. I n the absence of holes for the when the P r i v a t e House was adapted t o Christian emplacement of beam ends i n either the outer use. O f course, colonnaded porticoes as such are (eastern) wall or the stylobate, i t is difficult t o not t y p i c a l features of the traditional Oriental imagine how the portico could have h a d a cellar house. Imported u l t i m a t e l y from the West a n d underneath i t . The suggestion that such there was giving monumental form to possible earlier pole- derives probably from the observation that the supported sheds roofed w i t h woven mats, they h a d foundations of the p a r t y w a l l between the portico and the Vestibule (Room 8) stop short o n a lineB

which was demolished to (and including) the foundations, to make room for an open portico set on new and wider foundations as part of the Christian adaptation of the building, is of course entirely gratuitous ( R Q , X L I I , 1934, p. 225). 1. The one to the south is 0.75 m. wide and 0.52 m. deep; that to the north is o. 78 m. wide and o. 64 m. deep. The recesses were noticed and described first by Hopkins ( R e p . V, p. 244), who was inclined to interpret them as the bases of niches let into the wall of an enclosed room or as narrow door openings. There were, however, no indications of even the bedding of steps leading down from the wall into the courtyard. 2. R e p . I V , p. 11. Hopkins' dismissal of the evidence provided by the column drums ( R e p . V, p. 244) does not take account of the fact that the plinths could have been of unequal size and still have projected above stylobate level an equal amount.

3. The earliest surviving example of a structure with a full peristyle is the Citadel Palace from Hellenistic or early Parthian times. See R e p . I I , PL IV. The latest is probably the Palace of the Dux dated between A . D . 211 and 218. See R e p . I X , 3, p. 95 and Fig. 7 opp. p. 96. 4. For an example of a house with a single (corner) column in its court see the House of Nebuchelus in Block B 8 ( R e p . I V , p. 80 and Plate X V I , 1). For a house with a pair of columns along one side of its court see Houses C and C 2 in Block C 7 (Rep. I V , PI. IV and R e p . V, pp. 38-40). For the porticoes of the Dolicheneum see R e p . I X , 3, Fig. 10, opp. p. 134. There are of course many nouses at Dura in which rubble column drums have been found whose original location has not been determined. 5. So represented by von Gerkan, R Q , X L I I (i934) p. 225; Fig. 1, p. 231.

DESCRIPTION THE STRUCTUREment. O f these the one at the south is the larger, a clear indication of the fact that i t gives upon the most i m p o r t a n t part of the dwelling. T h i s is confirmed b y the existence behind the doorway of a group of three rooms so closely related t o each other through the diwan i n the middle ( R o o m 4 A ) , that i t m a y properly be called the South Suite (Plan I V , R o o m s 3, 4 A , a n d 4 B ) . W h a t is k n o w n about the relation between the second a n d t h i r d rooms of this suite as parts of the P r i v a t e House came to light i n the course of excavations conducted below floor level i n the large Assembly H a l l of the Christian B u i l d i n g (Plan V , R o o m 4). Certain features of the western half of the Assembly H a l l , revealed b y a close examination of the premises, were what suggested the excavation i n depth. One was the existence of a line of peg holes c a . o . 75 m . apart r u n n i n g along the west w a l l a n d along a short section of the south w a l l of F . T h eS o u t h S u i t e a n d the later the A s s e m b l y H a l l at a level 1.447 m . above its Assembly Hall floor (Plan V I I , I). The second was the presence i n Of the several rooms surrounding the central the west e n d of the n o r t h w a l l of the H a l l of a courtyard only two h a d doors set out w i t h molded square recess 0.45 m . above its floor level, 0.45 m . stone t r i m , n a m e l y the two centrally located at the deep, 1.15 m . wide a n d 1.75 m . high (Plan V ) . Such features are t y p i c a l of storage rooms, southern a n d the western sides of the establishserving t o sort out from the n o r m a l accumulation 1. This might seem to be implied in the sketch plan of of mats, rugs, pelts, a n d bolsters o n the floor the the building in R e p . V, PL X X X I X . more precious objects such as articles of clothing 2. There is no indication in the Field Notes of Hopkins and containers of various sorts. A t h i r d feature of or in his account of the structure in R e p . V of a "forgotten door" between the portico (Room 2) and Room 3 the A s s e m b l y H a l l was an irregularity i n the floor to which von Gerkan refers in R Q X L I I , 1934, PP-22if. and i n the plastering of the north w a l l o n a line None is indicated on the sketch-plan published in R e p . V, identical w i t h that of the outer (east) w a l l of Plate X X X I X and Pillet saw no traces of one when he excavated this portion of the building in 1930-31, R o o m 5. T h i s suggested that a p a r t i t i o n w a l l otherwise he could not mistakenly have concluded that separating the length of the h a l l into two rooms Room 3 (his Room D) had no "egress" (Rep. I V , p. 12). Von Gerkan may have been led to imagine that there had of unequal length (Rooms 4 A a n d 4 B ) h a d been been a door by the irregularity on the surface of what removed here to permit the creation of the larger remains of the wall between Rooms 2 and 3 as it is room (Room 4). T h e fourth feature was the shown here in Plan IV and Fig. 2 and visible at the existence o n the north w a l l of the Assembly H a l l , extreme right of the photograph reproduced on PL VII, 1. However, the irregularity represents only the difference but only between the irregularity i n the plastering between the rubble foundation course of the wall prealready mentioned a n d the door leading i n from served at the west and a short section of the mud brick the courtyard," of a section of plaster molding superstructure preserved by chance toward the east. There is no indication here of the bedding of a door sill. analogous to others found commonly at D u r a a n d Solely to facilitate correlation of the rooms which Pillet decorated w i t h rows of S a t y r masks, cymbals a n d designated by letter and which were later identified by Pan's pipes above a n d w i t h dolphins a n d sea number, we have provided in connection with his account of the "Edifice of Tower 17" as Fig. 11 below a sketch shells b e l o w .1 2 3

0.90m. away from the eastern perimeter w a l l of the P r i v a t e House. Of course this does not mean that there was a door here connecting portico, vestibule a n d street i n a direct line, otherwise the foundations w o u l d have been continued to provide for the emplacement of the door s i l l . Rather, the aperture must be interpreted to mean that i n the northeast corner of the portico a r a m p w i t h p l a i n earth steps l e d d o w n a n d under the p a r t y w a l l to the cellar beneath the vestibule, already described above. N a t u r a l l y the area assigned to this crude stairwell was found filled u p w i t h rubble, b u t when i t was filled, whether i n the demolition of the building or when the P r i v a t e House was adapted to Christian purposes, is unknown.

showing the eastern part of the Christian Building as cleared and interpreted by him. Needless to say this does not imply that positive importance is assigned to his interpretation where it has been disproven by the later re-examination of the premises by Hopkins and Pearson.

3. The molding itself was 0.17 m. high and ran at a level c a . 1.92 m. above the level of the floor of the Assembly Hall. It can be seen in place in the photograph that is PL V I , 1.

THE

P R I V A T E HOUSE A N D ITS A D A P T A T I O N

15

Such moldings, cast i n sections and applied to the w a l l as a decoration are familiar i n the diwans of private houses and are t y p i c a l l y of Bacchic character (PI. V I , 2, 3). I n this instance the molding must at one time have encircled the entire room, but the demolition almost to floor level of the rest of the north wall and of the entire east and most of the south walls of the Assembly H a l l has removed a l l traces of it i n those areas. The fact that what remained stopped short on the line of the irregularity i n the plastering of the north wall already referred to, coupled w i t h the fact that it did not reappear on the west w a l l of the hall, again suggested that i t h a d originally turned back on a p a r t i t i o n w a l l separating the d i w a n from a store r o o m at the west. T h e excavations made under the floor of the A s s e m b l y H a l l brilliantly confirmed these inferences, revealing not only the stub of the p a r t i t i o n w a l l still i n place, but also some of the installations of the d i w a n itself. Description of this part of the P r i v a t e House can therefore proceed from the verified assumption that at the south i t originally had a suite of three rooms, a d i w a n , R o o m 4 A , and two associated chambers, R o o m s 4'B and 3, giving upon the diwan at either end.1

Of the two doorways w i t h molded t r i m leading into the interior of the P r i v a t e House from the courtyard, that communicating w i t h the diwan, R o o m 4 A , was the more imperfectly preserved, b u t the standardization of such t r i m at D u r a and the. better preserved counterpart leading from the c o u r t y a r d to R o o m 5 make it possible to say what the door to R o o m 4 A was like. A m o n g the elements preserved here the most important are the door sill a n d a pair of steps leading up to i t . T h e steps were each o .50 m . wide a n d divided between them the rise of 0.75 m . from the courty a r d to the sill. T h e lower, 2.70 m . long, was set around three sides of the upper w h i c h h a d a length of only 2.10 m . U p o n the sill i t was still possible to trace the marks for emplacement of the door jambs. These show that the doorway was 1.60 m . wide (Plan I V ) . A t the proportions2

between w i d t h and height of doorways obtaining generally at D u r a , the height must i n this case have been slightly more than 3.00 m . A l l of the t r i m was removed when the eastern portion of the building was razed i n connection w i t h the second phase i n the development of the embankment. T h e jambs h a d been set against tongues projecting from the opening left i n the w a l l for the door, of which the one at the right (west) can be seen on PI. I V , 2. H e r e they would as usual have been held i n place b y masses of plaster forming the door reveal. Other masses of plaster applied to the outer face of the w a l l at the sides of the jambs probably served to double their exterior w i d t h a n d to give t h e m the t y p i c a l batter. A t the top they were no doubt surmounted b y molded j a m b capitals that l e d over to the molded stone lintel. Inside, the well-preserved reveal floor, widening out to 2.25 m . , contained the door sockets and the lock bar hole of the door leaves. It projected 0.40 nr. into the chamber, forming the surface of a step leading down into the room. Immediately at the right (west) of this step and encroaching upon it, low plaster ledges set around a rubble mass outlined a shallow box 0.95 m . long and 0.70 m . wide (PI. V I , 1, P l a n I V ) . Such installations are familiar elsewhere at D u r a just inside the doors of diwans i n private houses. T h e y apparently served as the emplacement for braziers used to heat the rooms i n winter and were therefore frequently sooty or showed marks of firing.3

R o o m 4 A was a commodious well-proportioned chamber, 8.00 m . long and 5.15 m . wide, w i t h a ceiling about 5.07 m . above floor l e v e l . T h e floor, to w h i c h one stepped down 0.12m. from the door reveal floor, was of plaster m i x e d w i t h pebbles. Plaster-covered rubble benches Loom, to 1.10 m . wide and c a . 0.17 m . high r a n a round a l l four sides of the room. T h e walls of the room h a d been carefully plastered, i n fact they were plastered twice, once w i t h a heavy coating applied to the m u d brick surface of the walls a n d a second time w i t h a t h i n cover coat overlaying the.4

1. See e.g., R e p . V I , p. 276 and PI. X V I I , 1, and P.V.C. Baur, "The Cock and Scorpion in the Orthonabazos Relief at Dura", S t u d i e s p r e s e n t e d to D . M . R o b i n s o n

(St. Louis, 1951), I, pp. 771-775.2. A part of the lower step is visible on the photograph used in PI. IV, 1.

3. See e.g. .Room 77 of House I in Block L 7, R e p . V I , PL VII. 4. As indicated above, p. 9, the height of the ceiling of Room 4 B can be calculated exactly at 5.22 m. above the floor. But floor level in Room 4 B was c a . 0.15 m. lower than that of Room 4 A, reducing ceiling height of the latter to approximately the figure given.

i6

DESCRIPTION: THE STRUCTUREwas of more modest proportions. I t had the same w i d t h as 4 A , namely 5.15m., b u t was only 4.25 m . long. Besides the door to R o o m 4 A i t h a d also a second door connecting it w i t h R o o m 5 to the north. F u l l y preserved this door was c a . 2.00 m . high, w i t h a n opening 1.50 m . wide that was narrowed to 1.10 m . b y the simple plaster t r i m set o n the side facing R o o m 5. The doorway was found blocked up w i t h rubble a n d i n the coarse unplastered fill two coins came to lighti one a n issue of Lucius Verus, minted at Caesarea i n Cappadocia between 161 a n d 169 A . D . , the other an issue of Trebonianns Gallus minted at A n t i o c h between 251 a n d 253 A . D . The date of the later coin suggests that the door was blocked up i n connection w i t h the erection of the first embankment, a n d that the rubble fill was intended to sohdify the wall i n the interior of the embankment as a part of the protective work connected w i t h the construction of that embankment.5 6

first. The second plastering belongs to the adaptation of the room to the purposes of Christian assembly because i t is of a piece w i t h the patch applied to cover the unevenness of the surface left b y the removal of the p a r t y wall between Rooms 4 A and 4 B . D u r i n g the period of the Private House the walls of R o o m 4 A were featureless save i n four particulars. T h e first is hypothetical a n d is represented b y a group of three small high-level windows w h i c h i t seems proper to project for the upper, destroyed portion of the north wall for ventilating purposes after the analogy of the two surviving i n R o o m 4 B (see P l a n V I I ) . T h e second is the plaster frieze already mentioned above, of which a section was found i n place o n the north w a l l at a level 2.06m. above the benches, a n d w h i c h must originally have decorated a l l four walls of the room. The t h i r d is a pair of graffiti discovered b y Pillet on the south w a l l of the room a n d recorded b y h i m as h a v i n g come into view as the result of the peeling off of the second, cover coat of plaster. T h e y belong, therefore, to the pre-Christian period of the use of the room. P l a c e d one higher than the other, they are pictorial i n character and represent a cataphractarius and a clibanarius respectively. T h e fourth a n d last is a small plaster aperture or socket, 0.10 m . i n diameter a n d i n depth contrived i n the east w a l l of the room just above bench level (Plan I V ) . Its function is unknown.1 2 3

Doorways must originally have connected R o o m 4 A w i t h both R o o m 3 to the east a n d R o o m 4 B t o the west. The sill of the former was preserved. The removal of the party wall between Rooms 4 A a n d 4 B when the building was adapted to Christian use has destroyed a l l traces of the latter, b u t its existence c a n safely be inferred from what is known about the function of R o o m 4 B a n d about communication between the several parts of suites of rooms associated w i t h a d i w a n i n other domestic establishments at D u r a . Its e m placement a n d dimensions are, as given i n P l a n 5. Information supplied by A. R. Bellinger. For the types see his F i n a l R e p o r t , VI, pp. 81 and 100, Nos. 1740 I V , of course, arbitrary. and 2073. R o o m 4 B i n the period of the P r i v a t e House 6. See above, p. 6.4 9

Mention has already been made of the fact that the north wall of R o o m 4 B contained at the left (west) of the doorway to R o o m 5 a large recess a n d that the west a n d south walls h a d i n them at a height of 1.67 m . above floor level rows of equally spaced peg holes. These are features of the t y p i c a l store rooms associated w i t h diwans i n private houses, but the room i n tliis; instance was not a dark cupboard. Its interior was lighted b y two windows symmetrically placed i n the west wall, 2.92 m . above the floor and opening on W a l l Street (PI. I V , 2). The type is familiar from other houses along W a l l Street a n d the examples i n question here are k n o w n i n a l l the several details of their construction (Plan V I ) . T o w a r d the interior of the room the window openings were 1.09 m . high. T h e sides of the openings tapered toward the top, so that their w i d t h was reduced from 0.65 m . at the bottom to 0.35 m . at the reveal ceilings. These ceilings, spanned b y poles bedded i n plaster, were n a t u r a l l y set i n a horizontal plane, but the7 8

1. See above p. 14. 2. See R e p . I V , p. 12.

7. See above p. 14. 8. E.g. the House of Nebuchelus in B 8. See R e p . I V , p. 81. 9. For other examples see for instance R e p . V I , p. 273, PI. X V I I , 1 (House of the Roman Scribes).

3. See Nos. 12 and 13, below pp. 92-94.4. See below p. 18.

T H E P R I V A T E H O U S E A N D ITS A D A P T A T I O Nwindow sills were slanted upward and the sides of the casings canted inward, so that the openings to the exterior were only 0.18 m . wide a n d 0.49 m . high. B o t h window openings, w i t h a l l their several faces, were found carefully plastered. Originally the exterior openings h a d wooden window frames set into them, o n a line 0.04m. from the outer face of the wall, These h a d been removed but their position and construction could be inferred from the remains of the plaster bedding that h a d held them i n place. The outside of the window frames h a d apparently h a d panes of glass or translucent slabs of gypsum crystal set against t h e m ; the interior surface served to h o l d wooden shutters that could be opened from below b y a draw c o r d . The two windows were found blocked up w i t h rubble a n d several explanations of this fact have been proposed. B u t i t seems easiest to associate the action w i t h the blocking of the doorway between R o o m 4 B and R o o m 5 a n d thus to suppose that i t is part of the conservation program connected w i t h the creation of the first embankment.1 2 4

17

A t least the west and south walls of R o o m 4 B had one unusual structural feature. T h e y were stepped inward a distance of 0.05 m . o n a line 3.40 m . above floor level, being thus thicker at the top t h a n at the bottom. The line of the offset cuts through the window openings at slightly above half their height (PL I V , 2). W h a t the purpose of the feature was, is not clear. A s excavated, the r o o m was found carefully plastered, once w i t h a t h i c k coating a n d a second time w i t h a t h i n surface coating. O n the south w a l l the first coat contained at least one alphabetic3

graffito. O n the west wall, symmetrically placed w i t h respect to the windows a n d 2.50 m . above floor level, hence beyond the reach of a person of normal height standing o n the floor of the room, was i n scribed another graffito petitioning that a certain Dorotheos be remembered a n d giving as its date the year 544 of the Seleucid E r a , i.e. A.D. 232-3. The fact that this is the only text found o n the premises giving a date i n terms of a calendar year, makes the graffito v e r y important for the k n o w l edge of the history of the structure. This importance is further enhanced b y the fact that the text is applied to the first coat of plaster, and that the character of the impressions showed i t to have been made w i t h some h a n d y implement while the plaster was still soft. I t gives the date, therefore, for the first plastering of the room, a n inference that is corroborated b y its position on the wall and its height above floor level, for at this level i t could have been made only from a platform or scaffold such as would have been used b y the plasterer. The only question is whether the date of the plastering is the date of the erection of the P r i v a t e House or the date of the adaptation of the P r i v a t e House to the purposes of the Christian community, and, i f the latter, h o w to understand i n their relation to each other the original plastering a n d the addition of the light cover coat that h i d the text. Different interpreters have answered the question differently. Since the question is of some importance i t w i l l be well to leave i t u n answered u n t i l a l l the evidence available for a knowledge of the history of the building has been presented.6 6 7

1. The pull on the cord required to raise and lower the shutter had gouged narrow runways into the lower edge of the window opening. 4. PL V , 2; No. 11, below p. 92. This is reported by 2. Hopkins associates the blocking of the windows with the demolition of the partition between Rooms 4 B Hopkins, R e p . V, p. 239, but no tracing exists. Von and 4 A, suggesting that the one large room now had Gerkan mentions two alphabets and other "uninform ative" graffiti on the south wall ( R Q , X L I I , 1934, P- ) sufficient light from the openings toward the court He could very well be referring to the south wall of the ( R e p . V, p. 244). Von Gerkan ( R Q , X L I I , 1934, p. 226) combined Room 4 and hence be including in this sumconnects it with the rise of the fill in Wall Street. mary statement the pictorial graffiti incised in the 3. Pearson is inclined to favor a decorative interpreplaster of Room 4 A already mentioned above (see p. 16). tation. A n alternative suggestion would be the desire 5. No. 10 below, p. 92. to make the fabric of the building stronger at its south6. Compare the interpretation given by Hopkins west corner. Perhaps the added thickness was to support ( R e p . V, p. 240) and that of von Gerkan ( R Q , X L I I , 1934. a second-story corner room serving as a summer diwan, pp. 226-227). after the manner of the one in the House of the Scribes. See Rep. VI, pp. 266-267, and Plan X . 7. See below p. 38.2 2 6

A t its opposite (eastern) e n d the South Suite included one additional room, R o o m 3 (Plans I V and V ) . L i k e R o o m 4 B i t can only have served i n an ancillary capacity the purposes to which the

i8

DESCRIPTION: T H E STRUCTUREbench along the eastern side of R o o m 4 A , so that the hole h a d to be plugged w i t h plaster. As regards Rooms 4 A a n d 4 B the most i m portant features of their adaptation to the new circumstances were the demolition of the p a r t i t i o n between t h e m a n d the raising of the floor level throughout. This h a d the effect of transforming them into one large hall, the Assembly H a l l of the Christian community. I n demolishing the partition between Rooms 4 A a n d 4 B those i n charge of the work concerned themselves only w i t h the removal of the m u d brick superstructure, leaving intact the rubble foundation of the wall which was found under the raised floor of the Assembly H a l l . W h e n the m u d brick of the partition was cut a w a y from the fabric of the buflding this left narrow unfinished vertical strips on the walls against which i t abutted. A t the north, where the house w a l l between R o o m 4 and the courtyard was preserved to a height of more than 2.00 m . , the vertical patch b y which the plaster coating of the t w o rooms was made a single continuous surface was clearly visible. T h e important fact about the patch is that t h e t h i n second covering of plaster which the rest of the H a l l received d i d not continue over the patch, forming a second layer, but was of a piece w i t h the patch.1

m a i n room of the suite was dedicated, a n d i t seems to have maintained this character throughout the entire history of t h e building. I t was entered through a doorway set into the northern end of the east wall of R o o m 4 A , a doorway that was only o. 86 m . wide on its outer face and at this width could scarcely have been more t h a n c a . 2.00 m . high. Demolition of the house destroyed the walls of the room down to the level of the sill (PI. I V , 2), b u t i t is l i k e l y that the t r i m , like the sill, was of molded plaster rather than stone, just as i n a l l the other less important doorways of the structure. T h e reveal floor, 1.30 m . long, contained the sockets for the leaves of the door and for the lock bar hole that held the larger leaf i n position against the jamb. The r o o m u p o n which it gives is small, sharing its largest dimension (5.15 m.) w i t h R o o m 4 A , a n d h a v i n g a w i d t h of only 2.55 m . T h a t i t h a d a door giving o n the portico (Room 2), as suggested b y v o n G e r k a n , is unlikely for reasons given above. I f i t received any light from outside, this would have h a d to come through windows high u p i n its northern wall, opening out over the roof of the portico. F l o o r level i n the room was about o. 10 m . below that of R o o m 4 A , the floor being only the r e d beaten earth t y p i c a l of such lesser chambers. W h e n the South Suite was adapted to the purposes of the Christian community R o o m 3 probably changed least both i n character and function. I t kept its separate identity a n d its original floor. The one feature seemingly connected w i t h the later period of its service is a pair of recesses, each about o. 50 m . wide, the lower ends of which were found roughly gouged i n the rubble work at the base of the west w a l l near t h e floor (Plan V ) . T o what height they m a y have extended i n the m u d brick part of the wall, whether they are to be understood as rough counterparts to a n d substitutes for the larger and carefully worked recess at the west end of the north w a l l of R o o m 4 A , the destruction of the superstructure makes i t i m possible to tell. The only reasons for associating them w i t h the later phase i n the use of the room are, first, that at the bottom they were gouged i n the rubble work, and, second, that the more southerly of the recesses penetrated to the socket let into the opposite side of the w a l l just above the

The raising of the floor level was accomplished by bringing i n a sizable quantity of earth, beating it down a n d covering i t w i t h a uniform layer of plaster. T h e amount introduced was sufficient i n what h a d been R o o m 4 A t o cover the tops of the benches. Because of a difference i n the earlier floor levels slightly more fill was required i n what had been R o o m 4 B than i n what had been R o o m 4 A , b u t even more was introduced than was needed, for the floor of the Assembly H a l l was somewhat higher (0.07m.) at the west than at the east. Imbedded i n the plaster coating of the floor of the Assembly H a l l was found a coin minted at Nisibis, a bronze issue of Severus A l e x a n d e r and hence dated between A . D . 222 and 235. The floor2

1. On this socket see above, p. 16. 2. Information supplied by Bellinger. For the type see his F i n a l R e p o r t , VI, pp. 71. This may be the coin seen by von Gerkan and provisionally assigned by him to the year A . D . 241 and thus presumably to Gordian III ( R Q , X L I I , 1934, P- 7)Dura coin inventory22 T n e

T H E P R I V A T E H O U S E AND ITS A D A P T A T I O Nshows no appreciable signs of wear a n d was presumably covered w i t h plaited reed mats during the period of its use. T h e o n l y notable feature of the room at floor level, a n d i n fact i t s only installation, was a l o w plaster and rubble dais set against the east (end) w a l l of the Assembly H a l l immediately beside a n d thus t o the south of the doorway leading into R o o m 3 (Plan V , P I . V I I . 1). Slightly rhomboidal i n shape, whether b y accident or t o provide better clearance for anyone wishing to enter R o o m 3, i t projected ca.o.gy m . from the wall, was 1.47 m . long a n d rose 0.20 m . above floor level. This would seem to have been the bema upon which the presiding officer of the Christian c o m m u n i t y sat or stood at its assemblies. A t the left of the bema a n d i n the angle between it a n d the east w a l l of the H a l l from which i t projects, there was noted a roughly molded mass of plaster c a . 0.20 m . wide a n d 0.09 m . high set around or containing a n aperture o . 12 m . i n diameter at the top (Plan V ) . Clearly i t served as the emplacement for some object, b u t what the nature of the object m a y have been is u n k n o w n .1

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was at least p a r t i a l l y preserved (Plans V a n d V I I ) . W h a t was left i n s i t u here at the demolition of the eastern part of the building was a part of the window sill a n d the entire bedding of the right (west) jamb. T h e sill was placed 1.17 m . above d a t u m , approximately 0.55 m . above the level of the raised floor of the Assembly H a l l , a n d was between 0.90 m . a n d 1.00 m . wide. T h e j a m b bedding showed that the window was 1.75 m . high. W h a t is unusual about the construction is the fact that the t r i m could be seen not t o have been set into an opening properly prepared at the construction of the m u d brick wall, b u t into one gouged out of the wall after its construction. The bricks of the several tiers d i d not abut regularly against the jamb. T h e y ended on an irregular vertical line a n d the space between t h e m a n d the j a m b was filled w i t h stones roughly bedded i n plaster. A pivot hole found i n one corner of what was preserved of the window ledge, directly behind the sill, indicates that the windows h a d wooden shutters that swung i n w a r d like the leaves of doors.

The structural changes made i n the South Suite have a purposeful coherence a n d were undertaken, i t seems, w i t h strict economy of effort and expense. T h e y served t o create here a single large h a l l a l l of 12.90 m . long and 5.15 m . wide (Room 4), w h i c h the ancillary chamber (Room 3) supplemented at the east. T h e h a l l was clearly intended for meetings, hence the introduction at the east of the raised bema or dais. R a i s i n g of the floor to a level above the tops of the benches i n what h a d been R o o m 4 A maximalized the seating capacity a n d served at the same time to reduce dampness. O n the mats spread over the floor as m a n y as 65-75 persons could well have mentions a further coin recorded only as having been been accomodated. F o r such large assemblies the found "stuck in the plaster floor of the back room" of low-level windows supplied the needed additional the Christian Building. It is an issue of Geta minted at Sinope in A.D. 210 and forms No. 2043 of the list in light a n d ventilation. N o one thought of removing F i n a l R e p o r t VI, pp. 97 and 160. Its precise provenience the remaining sections of the decorative Bacchic can obviously not be determined. plaster frieze, for purist or religious reasons. A l l 1. For suggestions of various interpreters see below, that was done t o the walls was t o p a t c h the scars p. 143. Pearson recalled having seen similar sockets in other private houses at Dura, mentioning particularly left b y the removal of the p a r t i t i o n between Rooms two set in corners of a courtyard where they seemed to 4 A a n d 4 B a n d t o extend the piaster of this have been formed around wooden poles. None are patch as a t h i n cover coat around the entire h a l l . recorded in actual house plans. This h a d the effect of brightening the interior and 2. The only recorded instance of a low-level window opening at Dura is in Room 1 of the Praetorium ( R e p . V, of covering the pictorial a n d other graffiti prep. 212 and Pis. I l l and X I , 1.), that is, in the outer wall viously inscribed o n the walls. T h e fresh coating of the main court. A t the north, R o o m 4 was supplied w i t h one or two low-level windows giving on the courtyard of the house. Such windows are not at a l l common at D u r a , especially i n private houses, where the n a t u r a l tendency was, then as now, t o shield the interior of the more important rooms from the noise a n d odors of the c o u r t y a r d . I t is therefore probable a p r i o r i that they were added when the P r i v a t e House was adapted t o Christian use. This is confirmed b y structural details of one such window, the one at the right (west) of the door leading into R o o m 4 from the courtyard, which2

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DESCRIPTION: T H E STRUCTUREthough still connected with the m a i n suites. I n houses of moderate size, w i t h a single entrance and a single courtyard, they tend to adjoin each other, giving on adjacent sides of the same court but connecting w i t h each other also without passage through the court. I n the smallest houses they are perhaps represented b y a second room other than the diwan somewhere i n the periphery of the court . Pearson has therefore properly included an adjoining second suite i n the ground p l a n of the t y p i c a l D u r a house. F r o m the w a y such second suites are developed i n the largest establishments and from the existence