Friday, January 08, 2010

Roman era tombs unearthed in southern Syria


Archaeologists have been busy in southern Syria.  Wafa al-Audi, head of Bosra's Antiquities Department reports that five tombs dating back to the Byzantine era have been found in Daraa.  One yielded copper bracelets as well as one made of iron.

[Image: Roman ruins north of the citadel in present-day Basra.  Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.]

Four more Byzantine-era tombs were found in Jedia.  They, too, contained bracelets, coins and bronze shards.  Skeletal remains of a 20-year-old man were found in yet another Roman tomb unearthed in Selmine.



In a continuing excavation of the Nabataean Cathedral in Bosra, a French team has unearthed remains of a private bath in Trajan's Palace.

I'm afraid the article in DNA did not include any images of the artifacts recovered.

Cosmos Global Documentaries IN THE LAND OF THE NABATEANS Arabia's Mystic Traders  Roman Syria and the Near East   Studies In The History Of The Roman Province Of Syria (1915)   Soldiers, Cities, and Civilians in Roman Syria  Archaeology of the Bronze Age, Hellenistic, and Roman Remains at an Ancient Town on the Euphrates River: Excavations at Tell Es-Sweyhat, Syria Volume 2 (Oriental Institute Publications)