Qasr al-Abd ancient archaeological site
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- čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
- Large ancient stone blocks there much larger than the size of a human. Qasr al-Abd (Arabic: قصر العبد, lit. 'Castle of the Slave') is a large Hellenistic palace from the first quarter of the second century BCE. Most scholars agree it was built by the Tobiads, of the Second Temple period, although the descriptions doesn't mention that. This is just a hypothesis, and the megalithic foundation may be much older.
Qasr al-Abd is believed to be Tyros, the palace of a Tobiad notable, Hyrcanus of Jerusalem, head of the powerful Tobiad family and governor of Ammon in the 2nd century BCE. The first known written description of the castle comes down to us from Josephus.
The association of the site with the Tobiads is based on a cave inscription found nearby. The Hebrew name 'Tuvya' or 'Toviyya' (Tobias) is engraved (טוביה, but in a more Aramaic script above the adjacent burial caves of Iraq al-Amir, which share their name with the nearby village. In another of these caves there is a carving of a lioness sheltering a cub at the palace. There are two inscriptions in Aramaic script reading "Tobiah", carved into the facades of two rock-cut halls north of the palace and dated to the 4th century BCE or earlier.
According to Josephus, Hyrcanus left Jerusalem after losing a power struggle, and established his residence east of the Jordan, apparently on the ancestral lands of the Tobiad dynasty. The area was then a border zone between Judea and Arabia and Josephus mentions that Hyrcanus was in constant skirmishes with Arabians, killing and capturing many. Hyrcanus took his own life in 175 BCE, following the ascent to power in Syria
The name Qasr al-Abd can be translated as "Castle of the Slave" or "Castle of the Servant", a title which may refer to Hyrcanus himself, who, as governor, was a "servant of the king". The biblical Book of Nehemiah mentions "Toviyya, the Servant, the Ammonite". Worship to fallen Amon (Baal Amon , Amon Ra, Marduk).
The first known written description of the castle comes down to us from Josephus, a first-century Jewish-Roman historian: He also erected a strong castle, and built it entirely of white stone to the very roof, and had animals of a prodigious magnitude engraved upon it. He also drew round it a great and deep canal of water. He also made caves of many furlongs in length, by hollowing a rock that was over against him; and then he made large rooms in it, some for feasting, and some for sleeping and living in. He introduced also a vast quantity of waters which ran along it, and which were very delightful and ornamental in the court. But still he made the entrances at the mouth of the caves so narrow, that no more than one person could enter by them at once. And the reason why he built them after that manner was a good one; it was for his own preservation, lest he should be besieged by his brethren, and run the hazard of being caught by them. Moreover, he built courts of greater magnitude than ordinary, which he adorned with vastly large gardens. And when he had brought the place to this state, he named it Tyre. This place is between Arabia and Judea, beyond Jordan, not far from the country of Heshbon.
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The palace was badly damaged by the 363 Galilee earthquake. It preserved its original two stories due to the fact that was reused as a church during the Byzantine period.
Josephus mentions the "beasts of gigantic size carved on it" (Antiquities of the Jews, Book XII, 230), and carved tigers or lions are still perfectly preserved on the remains visible today.
The castle is built from some of the largest single blocks of any building in the Middle East, with the largest block measuring seven by three metres. Archaeologists have established that Qasr al-Abd once stood in a much larger estate, which was originally surrounded by a wall and included a park with trees and shrubs. A large stone olive press has been found on the site, suggesting the estate was partially self-sufficient in agricultural produce.
marvellous how you show ruins that are hardly ever shown. Everyone knows the Parthenon and Rome and Efesus, but these are places hardly anyone knows. So glad I found your channel. Also good, that you have people in the pictures, which shows the size of the blocks! Thanks for sharing!
I have been studying Asia and Africa for a long time now on Google Earth. The history and ruins are so vast it is hard to see a lot of them. What we can see is only a portion of what is there. There are not many street views in a lot of places I find. Thank You for sharing with us 😊 You are one of my favorites. Top 5 at least. You show things there are not many pictures of. I'm not sure if any pictures exist of some of the places you go. Absolutely Amazing Every Time.
Thank you for watching this video
Very different block walls at 16 mins. Almost reminiscent of Persepolis. Glad you're alive Vlad.
Most scholars here are sadly completely mistaken since they have read every story but the story of the masonry itself. Impossibly massive megalithic blocks with microfine polygonal masonry, trapezoidal windows and doors, both half and full indented lintels (extremely rare and specific), mortise and tenon joinery, even possibly originally square columns on the backside whose rounding was unfinished at the base, etc I could go on but none of these are found anywhere in true Hellenistic architecture.
These striking hallmarks together are very rare and only found all together in a few places in the world like the Valley Temple and Osireion of Egypt and most particularly the megalithic part of Machu Pichu, Peru. In my decades of studying ancient masonry, I'd easily wager the megalithic base is one of the oldest free-standing buildings still on earth.
This building is also likely half buried as the ground immediately all around it is an unnatural hill packed with broken debris sticking out due to the numerous earthquakes over the millennia. The ancient Greeks obviously found it in ruins, renovated the exposed part, added the inner rooms (much smaller blocks) and roof, and shaved all the walls down to be smooth for their plaster-work which is still visible in small sections. Originally the walls were likely uneven and rusticated as suggested in the unseen windowless rooms aka "water tank" areas and a few sections exposed below the current soil level. Btw, the walls shown at 16:04 do not belong to this building - no worries, mistakes with so many images are bound to happen.
An even later culture added more renovations like the very poor ornamental edging on most of the blocks (which are laughably uneven compared to the perfectly straight stone joints themselves or even the fine Greek cornice).
I'm astonished this outstanding site is not a world-famous attraction amongst ancient history buffs, especially the so-called alternative archeology community. Thank you for showcasing it. I hope everyone reading this is having a beautiful week and I hope you and your loved ones are faring as well as they can.
Кто там раньше обитал?
Thanks Vlad.
First! Great to see you Vlad!
Thank you. Thanks for watching this video, and for your first comment here
Thank you Vlad, I really enjoyed this video. And great job with the English!
fascinating!! thanks for this Vlad!!
I always enjoy your videos. Keep up the great work, we all need you!
This world doesn't seem possible yet here it is....🙏
Обалдеть! Вес не имеет значения!🤝👍
The Dead Sea was obviously filled by gigantic repeating waves relentlessly generated from the subduction zone beneath Crete. Just mentioning it as you had a good shot of it.
и все древние постройки разрушены каким то кинетическим оружием!....
I like the English! Sounds good!
Nice joke.
@@staszekgolab9319 Cut him a break! He is learning English and I think it really improves the reading of the text for me as an English speaker, which I didn't do before as much. I now read along as he speaks. The video content and also music is what I have usually focused on.
🙏🇨🇦
Too bad it was so poorly reassembled from its once grandeur.
Thanks Vlad