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Monday, December 14, 2009

Byzantine bathhouse found in Syria

Syrian archaeologists have disovered the remains of a bathhouse dating back to the late Byzantine era and the beginning of the Umayyad era. The bath was discovered within a huge architectural bloc, which was likely a palace.

Ibrahim Amiri, who heads the excavation team, said that a number of the bathhouse' sections had been discovered, particularly the inner section which contained hot water distribution system under the floor and in the walls of the building, in addition to discovering the remains of a church adjoining the palace.



He went on saying that the palace is a huge building of a 200 square meter area and resembles the palaces of the Umayyad deserts such as the Eastern and Western Al-Hir Palace.

This is the second discovery of a Byzantine bathouse in the region this year. In March, Israeli archaeologists announced they found a 1500 year-old bathhouse near Gaza. They reported that the bathouse was large, measuring 20 meters by 20 meters, but had been destroyed in a cave-in and had subsequently turned into a garbage dump.