A Lintel from Fīq

 

This long rectangular block (A) had obviously served as a lintel. Its upper third consists of a frieze occupied by an indecipherable Greek inscription. The lower two-thirds feature a sequence of bas-reliefs juxtaposed and roughly executed that are from left to right:

- An hourglass-shaped object, probably representing a double-coned corn mill, a familiar item in the locality under the Romans and the Byzantines. 

- An altar. 

- An animal (B) nursing its cubs (to be described separately). 

- An eagle turning its head to its right and holding a wreath in its beak. 

- A mask (C) in the shape of an unbearded person whose hair and facial features are sketched in a childlike manner. 

- A second altar (E).

- A plant (D) with five leaves branching from its stem.

The piece is broken in the middle with a vertical crack separating the mammal from the bird. Its lower corners are missing. 

Provenance: Fīq. Acquired by the Syrian Department of Antiquities in 1925. 

Substance: basalt. 

Era: 2nd-4th century CE. 
Length: 215 cm. 
Text: adapted from Weber (p. 67). 
Collection of the National Museum of Damascus.  

Thomas M. Weber. Sculptures from Roman Syria in the Syrian National Museum of Damascus. Vol I, from Cities and Villages in Central and Southern Syria. Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft. Worms. 2006.