entrance to Qal'at Shayzar, Syria

entrance to Qal'at Shayzar, Syria

Qal'at Shayzar, Syria from the Orontes bridge.

Qal'at Shayzar, Syria, the massive stone-cut ditch separating the castle from the adjacent plateau.

For Fortress Friday here is Qal'at Shayzar, Syria (my pics of 1999). It controls a bridge over the Orontes & was the home of the Munqidhite family in the 12th century, including the well-known Usama ibn Munqidh, author of Kitab al-I'tibar.

#FortressFriday #Castles #MedievalSky #Syria #SyriaSky 🏺

me in the Syrian desert

Here is a #ThrowbackThursday pic of me in the field at Deir Mar Musa, Syria, in 2006. I was surveying the area for the caves in which the monks of the monastery lived. This is actually a very nice one with a patio. The stick was because I had recently broken my foot.

#Syria #SyriaSky 🏺 #MedievalSky

Watching the news last night I recognised the citadel of Aleppo, Syria, where I worked in the field seasons of 1997-2002. It was good to see people in the streets of Aleppo, Syria, enjoying their freedom. God-willing it will last.

#Syria #SyriaSky #MedievalSky 🏺

The church built about the pillar of St. Simeon Stylites (390-459CE) in Syria (my pics of 2004). All that was left of his pillar is the rounded rock which had been chipped away by pilgrims. It was destroyed by a Russian airstrike in 2016.

#MedievalSky #SyriaSky #SacredSpaces #Syria 🏺

For #FrescoFriday a saint from the chapel at the monastery of Deir Mar Musa, Syria. Here the underlying painting from the first phase of the frescoes, dated to after 1058 and before 1088, with fragments of the more colourful later phase over it.

#Syria #SyriaSky #MedievalSky

Here is a sacred space on Sunday. The Chapel of the monastery of Deir Mar Musa, Syria, my photos of 2004. The first chapel on the site I believe dates to late 4th or 5th century CE, the frescoes are 12th century.

#SacredSpaces #MedievalSky 🏺 #Syria #SyriaSky

Pottery from Iraq, Egypt and Syria between 1st and 12th centuries CE. You can find them online at: https://collections.rom.on.ca/search/nmc469y#

Pottery from Iraq, Egypt and Syria between 1st and 12th centuries CE. You can find them online at: https://collections.rom.on.ca/search/nmc469y#

Pottery from Iraq, Egypt and Syria between 1st and 12th centuries CE. You can find them online at: https://collections.rom.on.ca/search/nmc469y#

Sherds for my student's test: how, where, & when they were made? All from Iraq, Egypt, or Syria, 1st to 12th centuries CE. Find them online at: collections.rom.on.ca/search/nmc469y

#ArchaeologyofStuff #MedievalSky 🏺 #SyriaSky #RomanSky #IslamicArt @romtoronto.bsky.social #UniversityofToronto

Pottery made in Damascus, Syria, late 12th-early 13th century, excavated at al-Fustat, Egypt.

Pottery made in Damascus, Syria, late 12th-early 13th century, excavated at Jerusalem in 1968.

Selecting some pottery for my student's test today. All this pottery has been shown by petrographic analysis to be made in Damascus, Syria, and is made in the late 12th-early 13th century, but the soil conditions led to very different preservation.

#ArchaeologyofStuff #MedievalSky 🏺 #SyriaSky

Sarcophagus in Syria

For Museum Monday a basalt Byzantine sarcophagus at the museum in Ma'arrat al-Nu'man, Syria, in 2006 (my photo).

On 15 June 2015 the museum was hit repeatedly by Russian airstrikes or behalf of the Assad regime.

#Museums #MuseumMonday #Byzantine #Syria 🏺 #SyriaSky #MedievalSky

The Temple of Bel, Palmyra-Tadmor, Syria.

The Temple of Bel, Palmyra-Tadmor, Syria.

Here is a sacred space on Sunday. The Temple of Bel, Palmyra-Tadmor, Syria. Dedicated to Bel in 32 CE, the building later became a Christian church and a Mosque. My photo of 2004, it was destroyed by Daesh/ISIS in 2015.

#SacredSpaces #MedievalSky 🏺 #Syria #SyriaSky

Me hanging off of the side of Deir Mar Musa.

Deir Mar Musa, photo from 2004.

At the monastery of Deir Mar Musa, Syria, the main buildings are on top of a cliff, & the medieval monks lived in caves spread around the landscape, some of which seemed difficult to access. So in 2006 I took two climbers out with me. I don't like heights.

#FieldworkFriday #Syriasky 🏺 #medievalsky

Qalʻat al-Marqab, Syria

Qalʻat al-Marqab, Syria

Qalʻat al-Marqab, Syria

Qalʻat al-Marqab, Syria

For Fortress Friday this is Qalʻat al-Marqab, the chief Hospitaller castle of Syria until 1285. My photos from 1999.

#MedievalSky 🏺 #SyriaSky #Castles #Syria #FortressFriday

Robert Mason at Deir Mar Musa, Syria.

Here is a Throwback Thursday pic of me at the monastery of Deir Mar Musa, Syria, in 2007. The monastery and the landscape around it were the focus of my fieldwork from 2004-2009.

#MedievalSky 🏺 #SyriaSky