عمريت | |
 The Temple of Amrit | |
  Shown within Syria | |
| Alternative name | Amrith, Marathus, Marathos |
|---|---|
| Location | 6 km (3.7 mi) fromTartus,Syria |
| Region | Phoenicia |
| Coordinates | 34°50′20″N35°54′26″E / 34.8388°N 35.9071°E /34.8388; 35.9071 |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Founded | Third millennium BC |
| Abandoned | c. 148 BC |
| Periods | Phoenician (Persian,Hellenistic) |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1954 |
| Archaeologists | Maurice Dunand |
| Condition | Ruins |
| Management | Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums |
| Public access | Yes |
Amrit (Arabic:عمريت), theclassicalMarathus (Ancient Greek:Μάραθος,Marathos), was aPhoenician port located near present-dayTartus inSyria. Founded in the third millennium BC,Marat (Phoenician:𐤌𐤓𐤕,MRT)[1] was the northernmost important city of ancientPhoenicia, with relations to nearbyArwad. During the 2nd century BC, Amrit was defeated and its site largely abandoned, leaving its ruins well preserved and without extensive remodeling by later generations.[2][3]
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The city lies on theMediterranean coast around 6 km (3.7 mi) south of modern-dayTartus. Two rivers cross the city: Nahr Amrit, near the main temple, and Nahr al-Kuble near the secondary temple, a fact that might be linked to the importance of water in the religious traditions in Amrit.[2] The city was probably founded by theArvadites,[4] and was considered one of the "daughters of Arwad" on the coastline.[5][6] Marathus served as Arwad's continental base,[7] although the port of Arwad in the mainland wasCarne.[8][9] It grew to be one of the wealthiest towns in the dominion of Arwad. The city surrendered, along with Arwad, toAlexander the Great in 333 BC.[10] DuringSeleucid times the town, known as Marathus, was probably larger and more prosperous than Arwad.[11] In 219 BC Marathus gained independence from Arwad, and was later sacked by forces from the latter city in 148 BC.[4]Strabo described Marathus as ruins at his time.[6]
Excavations of the site principally began in 1860 byErnest Renan. Excavations were again carried out in 1954 by French archaeologistMaurice Dunand.[7] Ceramic ware finds at Amrit indicated the site had been inhabited as early as the third millennium BC.[2] Middle and LateBronze Age "silo tombs" were also excavated, with contents ranging from weapons to original human remains. Excavations at thenecropolis south of the town yielded several tomb structures. The funeral art found in some tombs with pyramidal-or cube-shaped towers, is considered some of "the most notable grave-monuments of thePhoenician world."[7] Excavations also uncovered the town's ancient harbor, and a U-shaped stadium that dates back to the 4th and 3rd centuries BC and measures around 230 m (750 ft) in length.[7]
One of the most important excavations at Amrit was the Phoenician temple, commonly referred to the "ma'abed," dedicated to the godMelqart ofTyre andEshmun. The colonnaded temple, excavated between 1955 and 1957, consists of a large court cut out of rock measuring 47 × 49 m (154 × 161 ft) and over 3 m (9.8 ft) deep, surrounded by a covered portico. In the center of the court a well-preserved cube-shapedcella stands.[7] The open-air courtyard was filled with the waters of a local, traditionally sacred spring, a unique feature of this site. The temple—which was dated to the late 4th century BC, a period following thePersian expansion into Syria—shows majorAchaemenid influence in its layout and decoration. According toDutch archaeologist,Peter Akkermans, the temple is the "best-preserved monumental structure from the Phoenician homeland."[12]
A second temple, described by visitors to the site in 1743 and 1860 and thought to have disappeared,[7] was later discovered by the Syrian archaeological mission near the Nahr al-Kuble spring.[2]
About 200 m (660 ft) northeast of the main temples of ancient Marathos and 180 m (590 ft) north of the AmritTell are the remains of a rock-carvedPhoenicianstadium. It is separated from the other two archaeological sites by theNahr al-Amrit and a site called by the locals al-Meqla '(the quarry').[13] The Stadium of Amrit was first described in 1745 byRichard Pococke in Part 2 of his book, A Description of the East, and Some Other Countries, as the site where an ancientCircus was held.[14][15] Ernest Renan examined it in 1860 and discussed it in his bookMission de Phénicie, making the conclusion that the complex was notRoman in its entirety and that the stadium was undoubtedlyPhoenician.[16] The stadium is about 225 to 230 meters long and 30 to 40 meters wide,[17] it has similar dimensions to the stadium ofOlympia inGreece (213 × 31/32 meters). Seven rows of seats have been partially preserved.[18] The stadium was open to the west and had two entrances on the east side between seats. In addition, there was a tunnel to the interior. The stadium is located approximately at a right angle to the main temple of Amrit, theMaabed. The temples to the north and west have open sides or which the stadium forms a common intersection. It is believed that the Amrit stadium was the location forsacred competitions where anointing andfuneral games took place.[18] Labib Boutros, former director ofathletics at theAmerican University of Beirut has conducted recent studies of the stadium and suggested that its construction may date back as far as 1500 BC, saying that the Amrit stadium was"devoted to sports in Phoenicia several centuries before theOlympic Games".[19]
The Necropolis in the south of Amrit consists of underground burial chambers and two distinguishing burial towers called by the locals"al Maghazil" orThe Spindles that stand up to 7.5 m (25 ft) high. The larger tower is composed of a square stone base with a slightly upward tapering cylindrical block with a base diameter of 3.7 m (12 ft), rising to a pyramid as a top termination, which is badly damaged. The second is approximately 12 meters southeast and is not quite 7 m (23 ft) tall. At its base are three cylindrical parts whose diameters decrease and terminate in a dome. At the lower cylinder, to the corners of the square base plates, fourlions decorate the building, which may not have been completed.[20] Excavations of the burial chambers east of the towers has uncovered finds dated back as far as the 5th century BC.[21] Plainlimestone andclaysarcophagus were found arranged in cassette-like formation within the chambers.[22] Other tombs are located south of the Nahr al-Qubli, the"al-Burǧ Bazzāq" orWorm tower, a phenomenal structure that was originally 19.50 meters high and theHypogeum"Ḥaǧar al-Ḥublā" with three burial chambers, which were still used in Roman times.[23]
Amrit was included on the2004 and2006World Monuments Fund watch lists of endangered archaeological sites. The Fund called attention to the site's rapid deterioration due to vandalism and encroaching development. In 2006 a three-day workshop was organized with participation from theUNESCO,Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums of Syria and local administrators responsible for the sites of Amrit, Tartus and Arwad.[24]
