Athena Review Image Archive ™
al-Masmiyah: Roman temple, the Praetorium (1890s photo)
al Masmiyah: Roman temple called the Praetorium (photo: anon. 1890s)
This 1890s photo shows the front of the Roman temple known as the Praetorium, located in al-Masmiyah in southern Syria. Al-Masmiyah is identified with the Roman-era town of Phaena, capital of the Trachonitis district of Roman Syria. The Praetorium was built between AD 160-169 for the commander of the Third Gallic Legion, during the reigns of the emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Veru
The temple, 25 x 16.5 meters in area, sits on a podium in a precinct or tenemos surrounded by colonnades. It has a rectangular ground plan with a semi-circular apse, containing the inner sanctuary or adyton, that projects from the wall opposite the doorway. On either side of the doorway were niches for statues.
The Praetorium roof, capped by a dome which is now missing, was supported by four free-standing columns located at the inner angles of cross-vaulted arches. These arches rested on lintels spanning the space between the outer wall and the columns supporting the roof.
.Copyright © 1996-2019 Rust Family Foundation (All Rights Reserved).