Great Colonnade at Palmyra
Overview of the Great Colonnade
|
|
 Shown within Syria
|
|
| Location | Palmyra, Syria |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 34°33′02″N 38°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 of Palmyra |
| Reference no. | 23 |
| State Party |
 Syria
|
| Region | Arab States |
| Endangered | 2013–present |
The Great Colonnade at Palmyra was the main colonnaded avenue in the ancient city of Palmyra in the Syrian Desert. The colonnade was built in several stages during the second and third century CE and stretched for more than a kilometer (approximately .75 miles). It linked the Temple of Bel, in the southeastern end of the city, to the West Gate and the Funerary Temple in the northwestern part.
The colonnade was damaged during the Syrian Civil War, especially when Palmyra was occupied by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant from May 2015 to March 2016. However, large parts of it are still intact.
The 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 the Funerary Temple. The eastern section stretched from the Monumental Arch in the center of the town to the entrance of the Temple of Bel. The middle section was built last to connect the two separate colonnades. It met the western stretch at the Great Tetrapylon, and the eastern stretch at the Monumental Arch.
The western colonnade was the first section to be built. Inscriptions found on some columns confirm that works started before 158 CE. The straight avenue ran in northwest-southeast direction and stretched for 500 metres (1,600 ft), the longest of the three sectors. The main avenue's width was 11.7 metres (38 ft) while the side streets were 7 metres (23 ft) in width. 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 the Transverse Colonnade which stretched to the Damascus Gate in the south.
The eastern sector of the Great Colonnade started at the Monumental Arch and stretched in a northwest-southeast direction towards the propylaea of the Temple of Bel. Work on the colonnade started after the completion of the propylaea in 175 CE and continued through the beginning of the third-century CE. 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. A corner of the temenos of the Temple of Nebu was 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. A nymphaeum was later added to the eastern colonnade between the Bel and Nebu temples.
...
Wikipedia