The building consists of two domed structures of unequal size. The lack of structural bonding between their masonry, specific features of their plan and elevation, and their differing architectural styles indicate that the two structures are not contemporary: the larger, northern one is the older of the two, and a second, smaller chamber was subsequently attached to it.
Turbat Farruẖšāh
Plan. — The structure forms a square measuring 8.70 meters on each side (external dimensions), enclosing a room—also square—with an opening in each of its walls; a cupola covered this space, the center of which was occupied by a tomb that has since disappeared. The cupola itself has fallen but was certainly the normal one, as the smaller turbā of al-ʾAmǧad Bahrām Šāh shows. The Farruẖšāhīyyā is the fully developed type of the Damascus turbā, which prevails from now on.
Construction. — Stone and brick: the former was used to build the walls of the funerary chamber, while the latter forms the two drums and the calotte of the cupola.
Turbat Bahrām Šāh
Plan. — Identical to that of the large tomb, but smaller in size (6.50 m side length, external measurement). The tomb, built of dressed stone, is preserved in the center of the chamber.
Construction. — The same mixed construction system as in the large tomb, though here the stone is cut into blocks of greater, uniform height. The same method is used to construct the cupola; its calotte is pierced by a series of circular holes arranged on a single horizontal plane, created by inserting pottery pipes into the brick masonry.
Ernst Herzfeld. Damascus, Studies in Architecture III. Ars Islamica XI-XII 1946 (p. 1-71).
No comments:
Post a Comment