A C T A U N I V E R S I T A T I S L O D Z I E N S I S
_____ FO LIA A RC H A EO LO G IC A 26, 2009
Be a t a So b i e r a j
University of Łódź
PERISTYLE IN NABATEAN SEPULCHRAL
ARCHITECTURE
This tomb [whose] main chamber is within, and whose smaller chamber is within and behind it, provides places fo r burial to form loculi; [including] as well the courtyard, which in fro n t o f them and in addition to openings and constructions which are in it, namely the benches and triclinium, water wells, rock walls and retaining walls; as well as all the rest o f the structures that are in the area: these are a sacred [place] and [a place] consecreted to Dushara, god [and] our lord, his trone Harisa and all the gods by acts o f consecration as commanded therein. Dushara and his throne and all the gods watch over the acts o f consecration so they will be observed and there will be no change or division o f whatever is enclosed in them; and no one will be buried in this tomb except fo r whom [authorization] fo r burial there is set down in the acts o f consecration, which are eternal.'
T his inscription com es from T he T u rk m an iy a T o m b (Br. 633)2 in Petra. O n the basis o f it is know n, th a t this m o n u m en t was a kind o f tom b com plex consisting the follow ing elements: co u rty a rd su rro u n d ed by the colum ned p o rtico e s3, gardens, triclinium and cisterns o n to w ater.4 T his type o f com plexe were surely m ore frequent in P etra. M ostly, it occurred in tom bs w ith a built-up architectonic facade belonging to rich peo p le.5 Such tom bs as type the H egra and the R o m an T em ple we can ra n k to it. H ow ever only in a few cases such structures which were an integral whole w ith the to m b have survived into times. T he o thers are n o t longer visible.
1 T rans. M cKenzie 1990, p. 35; Milik 1959, p. 555-560.
2 N um eration according to R. E. Brünnow: Brünnow, von Domaszewski 1904.
3 Columned court is a peristyle.
P robably, these structures has been destroyed d u rin g n um erous earth q u ak es and floods which had place in P etra.6
O ne o f the best-preserved tom bs com plexes is no d o u b t the R om an Soldier T o m b (Br. 239)7 which has got each o f the features m entioned in T u rk m a n iy a h ’s inscription. T here is a burial cham ber w ith loculi; opposite the to m b is the triclinium (Br. 235) above which is placed a cistern. T he space betw een the to m b and the triclinium was occupied by the courtyard which was surrounded from three sides by porticoes form ing a peristyle.8 M uch the sam e com plex is T he U neishu T o m b (Br. 813), but the triclinium is situated o n the right co rn er o f the court. B oth the burial ch am ber and the triclinium have got the loculi. In front o f this to m b is the courtyard which was surro u n d ed by a colonnade in th a t tim e.9 A lso the R enaissance’s T o m b (Br. 229) got the peristyle and the co u rt w hich situated under the triclin iu m .10
T o this type o f the tom bs complexes belong the so-called complexes Tombs also w hich recently have been isolated from the R o m an tem ple type by E. N etzer.11 T o this group belong am ong others things: the D eir (Br. 462); the U rn T o m b (Br. 772), the T o m b o f Sextius F lo ren tin u s (Br. 763), T he Palace T o m b (Br. 765) as well as T h e K asnet (Br. 62) and T h e C orinthian T o m b (Br.766).12 All m entioned tom bs are so-called “ p alatial” to m b s13 which were so-called because o f their resem blance to the H ellenistic palaces, especially for th a t m a tte r o f the architectural d ec o ratio n o f their faęades and the plan o f tom b com plex.14
T ypical o f the “ p a la tia l” tom bs, first o f all, is the architectural develop-m en t o f the faęade as well as in the occurance o f the peristyle. T he finest exam ple o f such a tom b is the U rn T om b. It is one o f the first o f the so-called royal tom bs which were cut into west wall o f the Jebel el-C hubta m assif. T his faęade gives o n to a 21 m wide co u rty ard which from both sides has go t a low, rock-cut D oric colonnade. F ro n ta l side o f an open co u rty ard was broadened by built-up a p la tfo rm .15 P ro b ab ly , also on th at side had been a portico which had closed entire creating a colum ned co u rty ard - the peristyle, but it has no t survived to o u r times. T here is no
6 Sobieraj 2004. I Schmid t-CoIinet 1980, p. 201. * McKenzie 1990, p. 113. 9 Supra 7. 10 Bourbon 2001, p. 128. II Netzer 2003, p. 26-36.
12 In two last tom bs the upper storey consist an illusion o f the peristyle, about which I will write later.
13 Sobieraj 2004, p. 83-90. 14 Ibidem, p. 17-19.
certainty th a t was the peristyle in case o f the rest the palace tom bs. Some evidence o f its existance can be found the D eir o r the T o m b o f Scxtius F lo rcn tin u s which were found colum n drum s n e a rb y .16 It is unclear w hether there in fro n t existed a peristyle o f the Palace T o m b . T his to m b precedes a sm all, narro w , rectangular terrace ,17 on which and in rock E. N etzer has noticed som e traces, w hich in his opinion, are a p ro o f o f existence o f the peristyle there. T his peristyle was situated low er in relation to the terrace .18 T his observ atio n should be supported by m ore concrcte evidence by a r-chaeological investigations on the terrain o f the co u rty a rd .
In the case o f the K h asn et and the C o rin th ia n T o m b ap p ears an o th er interesting issue o f an occurance o f an illusion o f the peristyle on the to m b ’s faęad e.19 T his problem also concerns the D eir. T h e upper stories o f these th ree faęadcs look similarly: in the m iddle stands a tholoi surrounded on three sides by porticoes. T h e upper storey o f T h e K asn et faęade was in terpreted by J. F e d a k 20 as a perform ance an illusion o f the peristyle th at could ad o rn a private villa o r palace ra th e r th an shrine as earlier suggested W atzinger.21 So, are the upper storeys o f these tom bs really an illusion to the peristyle? T rying to determ ine and explain ph en o m en o n o f the peristyle in The N a b a te a n tom bs I will base m y considerations on exam ples taken from the architectural sphere o f influence o f A lexandria, because it have had the largest influence o n to tom b com plexes at P etra.
The Hellenistic Architecture o f Alexandria
U n d o u b ted ly , the tran sfo rm atio n s preceeding these tim es in society were the m o st im p o rta n t and influential facto r o f developm ent and erection of dom estic buildings and tom bs. In th a t period was visible a love to rom p and luxury, particularly in a habitable and sepulchral architecture. It revealed in m agnificent luxurious tom bs as a co n tin u atio n o f affluence and reigning sp len d o r in houses o f this p erio d .22
L uxurious villas and houses were based on the splendid m ansions o f H ellenistic rulers. T h e m ain source o f insp iratio n fo r private m ansions and tom bs was the palatial architecture o f A lexandria. U nfortu n ately ,
16 Bourbon 2001, p. 70. 17 Zayadine 1997, p. 48. 18 Netzer 2003, p. 36. 19 Schmid 2001, p. 39. 20 Fedak 1990, p. 152.
21 Bachm an, W atzinger, Wiegand 1921, p. 20. 22 Bernhard 1993, p. 29.
the H ellenistic palaces o f A lexandria have no t survived to o u r tim es, so the only in fo rm atio n ab o u t it orginated the ancient w ritten sources and T he Second P om peian style Paintings on which was introduced palatial-rcsidcn- tial architecture o f ancient A lexandria. Besides m any im p o rta n t inform ation a b o u t this deliver the artifacts were got d u rin g an archaeological inves-tigations especially from terrain o f palaces o f governors, which were an im itation o f the p alatial architecture o f th a t period. O n the basis o f these sources it is know n th a t the palaces o f A lexandria were them selves large fo u n d a tio n s com posed o f m any room s, w hich fulfilled m any different func-tions. I. Nielsen has separated three kinds o f H ellenistic palaces. F irst o f them were a royal palaces, which in G reek sources were called basileion (basileia or halls)-, and in R om an regia. A ccording to I. Nielsen it could be the gigantic palace, on which was concentrated all functions o r it was com plex consisting o f g roup o f buildings occuping a large area and fulfil-ling definite functions. T his type o f palaces were the palaces o f A lexandria. T h e second category o f H ellenistic palaces were the m ansions o f governors which som etim es were rcfered to as aulai. T hese residences belonged to royal a d m in istrato rs o f provinces, strategists, satrap s as well as vassals kings. T herefore they were designed sim ilarly to the royal palaces, but were considerably sm aller and p o o rer in architectural deco ratio n w hat was co n -nected w ith a less financial sources and range o f pow er o f their owners. T h e P rivate m ansions, such as the luxurious villas o f elite were a third g ro u p found in w ritten sources, called oikos/dom us/villae.23 Because the A lexandrian palaces have been destroyed, therefore, all we know ab o u t them com es from w ritten rem ittances, different exam ples o f p alatial a r-chitecture. O n the basis it is possible - m o re o r less - to reconstruct appearan ce o f such a conjectual m ansion.
One such exam ples was m odeled on the palatial arch itectu re o f A lexand-ria — 1 he Pavilion o f I h e Ptolem y II.24 T his P avilion, as A nteneus passed, was raised in 274270 year B.C. and and there were tak en place a sym -posium s and audiences. A ccording to ancient w ritters the pavilion was full o f splendor and luxury, which was typical o f the royal palaces.25 It had a form o f colonnaded hall with five colum ns at b o th sides and fo u r on the end. T h e H all was surrounded from three sides by porticoes (syringes). This hall was kind o f an E gyptian oikos with internal peristyle.26 Sim ilar peri-styles, which V itruvius com pared to R om an basilica,27 could also exist in the H ellenistic palaces o f A lexandria.
23 Nielsen 1993.
24 Studniczka 1914; W inter 1985, p. 289-308.
25 Nielsen 1993, p. 133Г.
26 K utbay 1998, p. 46-49.
T h e Second exam ple w orth m entioning was d ated in to the last q u arte r 3rd century B.C. T h e Ptolem y P h ilo p a to r’s riv cr-b o at28 also called T halam c- gas.29 T his Barge was used to com fortable trip o n the Nile an d in connection w ith it h ad to assure any com forts, so it h ad possessed all palatial elements. A fter detailed analysis o f the plan o f the barge, we ca n notice th a t it recalls the peristyle, because it consisted o f tw o decks su rro u n d e d o n three sides by prom enades. W ithin there was a row o f room s inside in this, w ith am ong o thers things, a triclinium with an internal peristyle. O pposite which was a tholoi devoted to protective P tolem eans goddess - A p h ro d ite. T h e tholoi was su rro u n d ed by the peristyle as well.30
T h alam cg as’ plan was approached to the plans o f A lexandrian tom bs, w here ro o m s were placed along single axis, an d alike to plans o f habitable buildings as well because tom bs were their faithful reflection; so the barge should also reflect a palace.
G o v e rn o rs’ residences, although were sm aller fo u n d atio n s, like Palazzo delle C o lo n n e,31 im itated in regard the plans an d d eco ratio n s the palaces of A lexandria. O ne o f these m ansions Palazzo delle C olo n n e a t P tolem ais in L ibya is dated o n I B .C .32 T his palace had go t alm ost a hun d red room s placed aro u n d the peristyle.33 T he m o st characteristic elem ent o f palace was no d o u b t central situated a m ain entrance an d co lo n n ad ed co u rty ard and also an E g y p tian oikos and m any triclinium s. Sim ilar peristyles to T he G re a t Peristyle in P allazo were d em onstrated on the Second-style frescoes from P om peii and H ercu lan eu m .34
Based o n these paintings and the rem ains o f som e H ellenistic palaces like palace o f M ac ed o n ia together w ith w ritten sources we know th a t the peristyle was present in the palace, taking central place. A lso, the peristyle becam e a co m m o n elem ent o f the R o m an house in II century B.C. as can be fo u n d w ith the peristyle in the west w ing o f N e ro ’s D o m u s A urea in R o m e35 o r in the H e ro d ’s palaces, which u n d o u b ted ly were entered to palaces o f H ellenistic m onarchs. T he Palaces o f A lexandria as w ritten source an d archaeological research pass on had go t a t least one big courtyard: peristyle o r prostasloikos plan, and halls w ith in tern al peristyle ect.36 Oc- curance o f the peristyle in the m ain p alatial room affo rd s it a m onum ental
28 Caspari 1916, p. 1-74. 29 Nielsen 1993, p. 136Г. 30 K utbay 1998, p. 49-51. 31 Pesce 1950. 32 Nielsen 1993, p. 146; Lauter 1971, p. 149-178. 33 K utbay 1998, p. 55-57. 34 Lyttelton 1974, p. 53. 35 Sadurska 1975, p. 73ÍT, ryc. 51. 36 K utbay 1998, p. 133.
a p p caran ce underlining its representative character, for exam ple palace in Jericho or in T halam egas. A ccording to Polibius the palaces o f A lexandria consisted o f so called M egiston Peristylon, which is identified as a room was used fo r official purposes. In the opinion o f scholars the origin o f the peristyle could be E gyptian, because it was a typical elem ent o f A lexandrian houses, palaces and tom bs even.37
T h e tom bs in H ellenistic A lexandria were a co n tin u a tio n o f a life on earth , so their ap p earan ce and plan were alm ost the sam e as in a habi-table buildings. T h e best know n tom bs from this period recalled the o f a house o r palace with peristyle, which can be found in A lex an d ria.38 It was a type o f tom b w ith co u rt in form peristyle w hich was present to the H ellenistic necropolis o f M u sta p h a P u sh a 39 and N eo P hapos in C yp-ru s.40 T h e characteristic feature o f these tom bs is firstly the peristyle and the secondly in the faęade and the plan th a t were connected to the pala-tial architecture o f A lexandria. T he earliest tom bs o f this kind are tom bs on the necropolis o f S h atb i.41 These tom bs posses the central, open court w ith pseudoperistyle.42 T h e second, the biggest and the richest necropolis is M u s ta p h a P u sh a , w here sepulchre buildings are entirely o r partly rock-cut. T hese tom bs have peristyle plan, in which several room s were grouped aro u n d colum ned court. They have got the peristyle plan, on which several room s was groupped around a colonnaded co u rty a rd . These plans entered to plans o f H ellenistic palaces o r houses. F o r exam ple T he T o m b I in the necropolis o f M u sta p h a P usha is dated on the second h a lf III B.C. h ad got a pseudoperistyle su rro u n d e d from four sides by ro o m s.43 A n o th e r to m b - T h e T om bs III, had got a central located peri-style c o u rt,44 w hich was very sim ilar to the ones in the H ellenistic palaces. A lso the peristyle was in T o m b IV .45 Likewise the A lex an d rian tom bs, the N a b a te a n tom bs in P etra were created under an influence o f architec-tu re o f A lexandria. A s we can see o n the basis o f dep ticated examples ro o ts o f th e peristyle in plans o f tom bs are in the H ellenistic villa - pa-latial arch itectu re o f A lexandria.
31 M cKenzie 1990, p. 92. 38 Berhnard 1993, p. 34. 39 Supra 35.
40 Schmidt-Colinet 1980, p. 203; Schmidt-Colinet 1981, p. 81; Schmidt-Colinet 1997, p. 89; M atthiae 1991, p. 258; Fedak 1990, p. 26. 41 Breccia 1912. 42 Fedak 1990, p. 130. 43 Ibidem, p. 131. 44 Supra 131. 45 Ibidem, p. 132.
Illusion of the Peristyle
In the u p p er storey o f the to m b s’ faęade: T h e K a sn e t, T h e D eir and T h e C o rin th ia n T o m b is present an illusion o f the peristyle, which was com posed o f colum ned pavilions - porticoes su rro u n d in g from three sides a central located tholoi. H . K ohl as the first set ab o u t cutting rock facades.46 l i e claim ed, sim ilarly as A. Ippel, th a t the P om peian p aintings were m odel for these facades.47 As early as in 1862 year J. H ittfo rd had noticed that faęade o f T h e K asnet was sim ilar to p resentation on T h e Second style pain tin g in the L a b y rin th ’s house.48 A lso H . K ohl expressed an opinion th a t the up p er storey o f T h e K asn et was sim ilar to the pain tin g from cubiculum M in villa S inistora in B oscoreale.4’ Besides, the scholars refered to V itruvian (7.5.5) and they have noticed som e resem blance between faęadcs o f N a b a te a n to m b s so-called “ p alatial” and d ec o ratio n scenea fro n s o f theater. So, from the beginning o f X X century they th o u g h th a t T he Second-style frescoes and scenea fro n s im itated the p alatial architecture.
T h e Second-style P aintings are a very valuable source affording info r-m atio n ab o u t villa-palatial architecture o f A lexandria, w hich is no longer extant. So, an illusion o f the peristyle in the upper storey o f these tom bs shows the palatial architecture o f A lexandria sim ilar to the second Pom peian Style frescoes. T h e Paintings o f T he Second P om peian Style, referred also the illusionistic style according to A. M a u ’s classification,50 was dated to 80-15 years B.C. A ccording to H . G. Beyen51 this style had a considerable influence on th eatric decorations, ab o u t w hich w rote V itruvian (6.8.9; 7.5.5), which as we know from his relations, were m odeled by p alatial architecture. A lso K . Schefold show ed to sim ilar origin o f these paintings. H e referred to the text o f Plinius T he O lder (N H 35, 112-113) a b o u t S erapion, w ho was stenograph and created deco ratio n o f tab ern ae vetres in R om e sim ilarity to stenography scenae fr o n s .52 A ccording to Schefold S erapion could im plant an illusion in in terio r deco ratio n , which was characteristic for scenic d ec o ra-tion, and also such features o f P om peian p aintings as m any-plans and sym m etry, w hich he th o u g h for R om an.
As an illusionistic architecture M . L yttelton adm ited the G re at Peristyle in Pallazo delle C olonne. In her opinion arch itectu ral d ec o ratio n o f this
44 K ohl 1910. 41 Ippel 1910, p. 31. 48 H ittford nd. 49 K ohl 1910, p. 40f, fig. 37. 50 M au 1908. 51 Beyen 1938. 52 A fter Sadurska 1984, p. 115f.
peristyle were m an y H ellenistic solutions and they were originated from A lexandria. A ccording to her it was so-called an illusionistic architecture which we can see o n T h e Second Style P aintings and on the faęades o f the p alatial tom bs in P etra as well.53 T his opinion S. Schm id has confirm ed, w ho claim s there exist som e sim ilarities between a m in ia tu re and an il- lusinistic architecture o f the upper storey o f T h e G re a t Peristyle and the faęade o f T h e C o rin th ia n T o m b .54
G . Pesce com pared the upper storey o f T h e G re at Peristyle Palazzo delle C olonne to faęades o f the palatial tom bs in P etra, and with T he K asnet and he noticed th a t the peristyle o f the u p p er storey does n o t possess any relationship w ith the low er storey differently from th e case o f the N a batean tom bs, b u t the upper storey was sim ilar to the scenea fro n s from T ra lle s.55 As close analogy to the upper storey faęades o f the N a b a te a n tom bs we can tre a t also T h e N o rth Palace in M asa d a w hich w as dated on 30-20 B.C., because it consisted o f buildings which were located o n three different levels on the N o rth Slope. O n the first terrace was a square hall surrounded by porticoes, so it was a kind o f the peristyle. O n the second floor was a tholoi, and on the th ird were half-round balconies. A ccording to Schm id the upper storey o f faęade o f T h e K asn et is show n sim ilarity to u p p er (peristyle) and the m iddle terrace (tholoi) o f the palace in M asada. O n this base he claimed th a t these N ab atean tom bs as T he K asnet referred to the Hellenistic palaces.56 Besides such analogy to am ong others things like the palace in M asa d a can be the su p p o rt o f W atzinger’s thesis th a t N a b atean tom bs w ere a tran sp o si-tion o f such buildings on the facade’s surface.57 C. W atzinger th o u g h t th a t faęades o f these tom bs h ad im itated realistic buildings. H e h ad show n even several varian ts o f such buldings which according to him could be shown b efo reh a n d .58 T ra n sfer o f a realistic building o n to faęade cut in rock causes a loss o f original shape in the consequence o f p roblem s w ith the g ro u n d ’s conditions, th e m aterial, an d the qu an tity o f free space. Besides there appears to be problem s w ith o f m aintaining a three-dim ensional shape o f building which the architect had to solve by accom plishing som e sim plification and use fo reshortening perspective. T herefore, such architectural elem ents as: half-colum n, b ro k en pedim ent, tholoi, bas-relief etc. were applied which let to get the faęade m o re plastic and depth. So the faęades o f palatial tom bs as can be found in scenea fro n s o r T h e Second style paintings were only inspired by realistic arch itectu re and were an illusion o f the real building.
33 Lyttelton 1974, p. 60. 54 Schmid 2001, p. 396. 55 After Lyttelton 1974, p. 55. 56 Schmid 2001, p. 386f.
51 Bachman, W atzinger, Wiegand 1921, p. 24-28. 58 Ibidem, p. 25-28.
Functions
T h e presence o f large courts in palaces and large residences p robably reflected the need o f H ellenistic rao n arch s and n otables to accom m odate large gatherings o f people. A b o u t this m a tte r V itruvius has w ritten:
When we have arranged our plan with a view to aspect, we m ust go on to consider how, in private buildings, the room s belonging to the family, and how those which are shared with visitors, should be planned... The common room s are those into which though uninvited, persons of the people can come by right, such as vestibules, courtyards, peristyles and other magistracies, and whose duty it is to serve the state, we m ust provide princely vestibule, lofty halls and very spacious peristyles...M
In H ellenistic period the palaces had p ro p a g a n d a function. As centres o f pow er their architectural program had asserted the pow er o f rule and also to dynastic rule with protective gods. As aforem entioned the p ro p e r room s in H ellenistic palace fulfilled pre-defined fu n c tio n .60 T h e locatio n o f the peristyle on the plan suggests th a t it has fulfilled an im p o rta n t function. In general, the peristyle occupied central place and w as open to the row o f room s, so it was a representative room . It fulfilded an official an d cerem onial function. T his room gave acces o n to the o th er room s. I f we tak e into consid eratio n G . K u h n ’s theory th a t the porticoes (they expressed concent-ra tio n o f the econom ical pow er) w hich flanked p alatial co u rts was centre o f p o w er.61 A s well, observations m ad e by T. W ujew ski, w ho com pared the stru ctu re o f h ouse to stru ctu re o f tow n and he stated as a g o ra was the center o f tow n as the peristyle in house was a center o f dom estic life.62 We can say th a t the peristyle in funerary m on u m en ts h ad to be a center o f religious and society m eetings. I t seems th a t the H ellenistic palaces and tom bs, being grand fo u n d atio n s with peristyle co u rts and grouped aro u n d it room s, reflected the above idea and th a t they also show the royal pow er.63 P robably sim ilar functions were fulfilled by the peristyles in funerary m o n u m en ts at P etra. O n this indicates the location and their dim ension. Besides, the peristyles were only in the tom bs w hich w ere representative and belonged to rich people or ruling dynasty and officer, fo r exam ple T he Prim e m inister U neishu. T h e peristyle expressed the richness an d ran k of the dead. T h ere w ere tak en place a religion cerem onies connected with d e a th cult, som e social m eetings and there was given a h o n o u r o f adored
59 Vitruv. 6.5.1-2. 60 Nielsen 1993, p. 141T. 61 K uhn 1985, p. 187. “ Wujewski 1995, p. 303. “ Ibidem, p. 313.
kings like O b o d a t I. In case o f Ih e U rn T o m b I. B row ning suggested th at the peristyle could be also a triclinium un d er an open sky.64 Perhaps, sim ilarly can be found case o f the D eir, possibly aching jo in tly as cenotaph and shrine o f king O b o d a t I. A lso, the peristyle o f this to m b was open and there to o k place a religion cerem onies like a thiasoi. T h e sim ilar application the peristyle had in case o f T he Palace T o m b and as an evidence the scholars th in k extension o f w ater-supply system in upper p a rt o f tom b which was discovered in 1989 year.65 In case o f to m b s like: T h e K asnet, Ih e C o rin th ia n T o m b and T h e D eir theirs religion function underlined an illusion on peristyle w ith tholoi. P erhaps, the N a b atean peristyles could have also a n o th e r function a b o u t which we d o n o t have idea.
The Differences and Similarities
As we see, the com m on feature o f H ellenistic palaces and tom bs and to g eth er with N a b a te a n to m b s’ com plexes is the ap p e ara n ce o f peristyles in buildings belonging to rich and pow erful people as kings, governators and so fo rth , as can be seen in the exam ple o f tom bs o n necropolis M u stap h a Pushy. Sim ilarly is the care o f P etra, the tom bs, w hich had the peristyle, characterized the built up architectonical faęade, which required big financial effort. So, only a rich people could afford for such expense o r else those in high position in the state, o r people belonging to a ruling dynasty.
T h e peristyle at P etra was situated outside the to m b , while those in H ellenistic palaces and tom bs were inside. Besides, the peristyle in the palace and the to m b was an im p o rtan t elem ent, in which have taken place an official cerem onies. It was located in the centre and su rro u n d ed by other room s and it was a room which served the p urposes o f representations as have been described by V itruvius (6.5.1-2).66
F o r the H ellenistic m ansions were characteristic the peristyles which had tw o o r m o re storeys, w hat was reflected also n o t only in houses but in tom bs, fo r exam ple tom bs in M u sta p h a P u sh a’s necropolis n ear A lexandria o r N eo P ap h o s necropolis in C yprus.67 Besides in the H ellenistic palaces the peristyle was su rro u n d ed on three or fo u r sides by room s. F o r exam ple the n o rth peristyle in palace a t Pella was surrounded on four sides by room s. M oreover this peristyle had an ionic co lonnade and his n o rth wing had tw o stories an d the u p p er storey was decorated by little half-colum ns and
64 Browning 1974, p. 217.
65 Zayadine 1997, p. 48. 66 Vitruv. 6.5.1-2. 67 Schmid 2001, p. 398f.
p ilasters.ftH In the case o f Pallazo dclle C olonnc a t Ptolem eis the co u rt was d ecorated on three sides by an ionic p ortico and at the n o rth by C orinthian colum ns. In corners were presented half-colum ns.60 But m o st often was applied to the peristyle, can be found in the exam ple o f the palace at P ergam on, T h e U rn T o m b at P etra, the next was the Ionic o rd e r as is represented a t the palace at Pella, Palazzo delle C olonnc a t P tolem ais.70 We c a n n o t consider decorative aspect o f peristyles in case o f rest N ab atean tom bs, because they did no t survive to o u r tim es except T he U rn T om b.
O n the basis o f the plans o f the Hellenistic palaces and tom bs like tom bs I and III from necropolis o f M u stap h a P usha or the palace at Pergam on, the P tolem y’s II Pavilion, the Ptolem y P h ilo p a to r’s boat-riv er o r the Palazzo delle C olonne we know th a t the peristyle was large and surro u n d ed by room s. In case o f the peristyles o f the N ab atean tom bs is different. T he m ost com m on form o f fun erary com plex consisted o f to m b by itself as is case o f the Palace Io m b . Som etim es there was also a triclinium and w ater cistern as is the case o f the U neishu T o m b 71 o r the R o m an Soldier T o m b .72 T he peristyle o f the H ellenistic m ansions characterized by great size, often it took a big p a rt o f p alatial com plex, even to 17—40% o f the entire edifice, for exam ple the peristyle in Palazzo delle C olonne had dim ensions: 24,10 x 29,90 m, w hat was alm ost 1/3 o f p alatial fo u n d a tio n .73 If we co m p are size o f the peristyle, so it tak e in the H ellenistic palaces circa 40 % o f w hole com plex, bu t a t h ouse o f C lassical period the peristyle to o k 9 -3 1 % and in H ellenistic houses betw een 20% and 3 5 % .74 So, the size o f peristyle sim ilarly as in tom bs takes relative big space in building. T h e sam e situ atio n is in N ab atean tom bs, w here colum ned co u rt takes also so m uch place in w hole com plex, fo r exam ple the peristyle o f T he U rn T o m b has dim ensions: 20 x 15 m , w hat gives circa 300 m 2,75 T h e U neishu T o m b has got 17 x 14 m (ca. 240 m 2) 76 and T h e R o m an Soldier T o m b had colum ned co u rt according B achm an’s reco n stru ctio n , which had dim ensions: 28 x 32 x 20 m , w hat gives 600 m 2.77 In case o f N a b a te a n tom bs the size o f peristyle depended on free space connected w ith config u ratio n o f terrain, w hat also occured very often in the H ellenistic palaces as can be found in the exam ple palace at P erg am o n .78
68 K utbay 1998, p. 100ГГ. M Lyttelton 1974, p. 53. 10 K utbay 1998, p. 104f. II Netzer 2003, Abb. 60. 72 Schmid 2001, fig. 11. 34a. 13 K utbay 1998, p. 104. 74 Ibidem, p. 132. 75 N etzer 2003, p. 60. 76 Ibidem, p. 50, Abb. 60. 77 Ibidem, p. 54. 78 K utbay 1998, p. 132.
Conclusion
T h e G reek w ord Peristilos m eans “ surro u n d ed by colum ns” , so the peristyle was a colum ned c o u rt which could be cither on the inside or outside o f the building. T h is elem ent has been know n earlier, b u t as ju s t in the H ellenistic period it becam e m ore com m on in p riv ate architecture. All H ellenistic houses, villas and palaces possessed this kind o f peristyle as in for exam ple: the houses a t O lbia, the villa o f A ttalo s and the palace at P erg a m o n .79 H ow ever, the peristyle came perm anently to the R o m an house.
T h e earliest existence o f funerary com plexes at P etra, together with the peristyles w ithin were signalized by W. B achm m an. T his scholar together with C. W azinger and T. W iegand had excavated at P etra d u rin g the F irst W orld W a r.80 T hey described and classified freestanding buildings at P etra and they devoted m uch atten tio n to to m b s’ faęades such as the K a sn et, the C o rin th ia n T o m b ect. trying explain their origin. W. B achm m an’s o bser-vations and inscription o f the T u rk m an iy a to m b m ad e possible him to reconstructed such a scpulchral com plex like the R o m an Soldier T om b. U ndoubtedly, the ap pearance o f the peristyle in to m b s’ com plexes at P etra was a result o f spreading o u t o f Hellenism to N a b atean a rt and architecture d u rin g I century B.C. and I A .D ., w hat was as a result o f trade-contact with R o m e81 and A lex a n d ria,82 which exerted the greatest influence in the private arch itectu re in the H ellenistic period and later.
T h e peristyles, which were here discussed, w ere an integral p a rt o f N a b a te a n to m b s’ com plexes. In all cases they were situ ated in fro n t o f the tom b. O nly in the case o f T h e U rn T o m b peristyle which has survived to o u r tim es, w hereas the others we speculate ab o u t it o f the basis o f existing traces such as drum s o f colum ns. T h a t is why we are n o t able say too m uch a b o u t th eir architectonic decoration. O n the basis o f survived court we can say th a t the peristyles had large sizes as in tho se in the H ellenistic palaces and tom bs. Some o f these tom bs did not have a freestanding peristyle in fro n t o f them , bu t the upper storey o f faęade was an illusion o f a peristyle w ith tholoi for exam ple the K asnet, the C orin th ian T o m b . T his illusion was only reflection o f the grand dom estic architecture o f A lexandria, which also was described by the ancient w riters and represented in T h e Second P om
pe-79 Parnicki-Pudełko 1985, p. 334Г, 338Г, ryc. 498. 80 H am m ond 1997, p. 66.
81 Sobieraj 2004, p. 231T.
82 “Now the loads o f aromatic are conveyed from Leuce Come to Petra, and the hence to
Rhinocoloura, which is in Pheonicia, near Agypt... transported by the Nile to Alexandria, and they are landed fro m Arabia and India M yus Harbour; and they are conveyed by camels over Coptus in Thebais ... to Alexandria” - Strabon 16.4.24.
ian Style Paintings. As we could notice com parison m entioned here examples o f architecture, frescoes T h e Second-style and discussed here N a b atean tom bs th a t all o f them had arisen as a result o f an influence the architectural sphere o f A lexandria.
B ecause the peristyle appears only in the to m b s which are richly a r-chitecturally developed faęades, they were a sign o f richness and pow er. So, the ow ners o f these tom bs were rich and pow erful persons, w ho occupied im p o rtan t place in N a b atean society. It is certain th a t m ost o f them belonged to a royal fam ily. A ssertaining the functions o f the peristyle in N ab atean tom bs is difficult. P ro b ab ly it was used for religious cerem onies connected w ith the cult o f d ea th o r the cult as adorned king. P erh ap s there were also a n o th e r functions.
A b b r e v i a t i o n s :
AncBIHs - The Ancient HLitory Bulletin RJb - Bonner Jahrbücher, D arm stadt-Bonn
JD A J - Jahrbuch des Deutsches Archälogischen Institutes J d l - Jahrbuch des Deutsches Institutes
PEQ - Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly
Pliny The Older U N - Historia Naturalis; Historia Naturalna (wybór), tłum. i kom. J i T.
Zawadzcy, W rocław 1961.
R B - Revue Bibliąue
Strabon - Geographika; The Geography o f Strabon I—VII, London 1917-1932, tłum. i oprać. H. J. Jones.
Vitruv. - M arcus Vitruvius Pollio, De architectura libri decent; O architekturze ksiąg dziesięć, tłum. K. Kum aniecki, Warszawa 1956.
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Perystyl jako elemcnt nabatejskiej architektury sepulkralnej
S t r e s z c z e n i e
Peristilos po grecku oznacza dosłownie „otoczone przez kolum ny” . Stał się popularny
w okresie hellenistycznym, zwłaszcza w prywatnej architekturze mieszkalnej (np. willa Attalosa, domy z Olbii czy pałac w Pergamonie) i był obowiązkowym elementem każdego rzymskiego domu.
W hellenistycznych pałacach i willach Aleksandii perystyl zajmował ważne miejsce i umiesz-czony był wewnątrz budynku, natom iast w nabatejskich grobowcach występował na zewnątrz. Perystyl znajdował się w centrum założenia - wokół niego skupiało się szereg innych pomiesz-czeń, które pełniły funkcje reprezentacyjne, o czym wspomina Vitruwiusz (6.5.1-2). Kolumnowy dziedziniec pełnił rolę nie tylko reprezentacyjną, ceremonialną, ale był jednocześnie wyznacz-nikiem bogactwa, statusu społecznego oraz ośrodkiem władzy.
Perystyl charakteryzował się sporymi rozmiarami - zajmował niekiedy nawet 1 /3 kompleksu,
jak np. w pałacu Pallazo delle Collone. Otaczały go dokoła pomieszczenia, czego przykładem m ogą być Pawilon Ptolomeusza II, Thalagam es, a także nekropolia M ustaphy Pushy. W pała-cach perystyle często były dwukondygnacyjne, podobnie ja k w grobowpała-cach nekropolii M ustapha Pushy i N eo Phapos na Cyprze.
A leksandryjska architektura sepulkralna limitowała prawdziwe budynki mieszkalne zarówno pod względem wystroju archtektonicznego, jak i planu grobowca - np. nekropolia M ustapha Pushy. Podobnie było w przypadku grobowców nabatejskich, które według J. Fedak były odbiciem architektury willowej lub pałacowej Aleksandrii. D o grobowców tzw. pałacowych naśladujących swoją fasadą i planem architekturę pałacową okresu hellenistycznego należy zaliczyć: Grobowiec U m y, Sextiusa Florentinusa, Deir, Pałacowy, Khasnet oraz Koryncki. Wszystkie posiadały rozbudow ane architektonicznie fasadę i perystyl. Kolumnowy dziedziniec pojawiał się również w niektórych bardziej rozbudowanych grobowcach typu Hegra, jak np. G robowiec Renesansowy i Uneiszu czy Rzymskiego Żołnierza. Te między innymi grobowce m ożna zaklasyfikować według E. Netzera do tzw. grobowców kompleksowych. Składały się z grobowca, kolumnowego dziedziń-ca, tryklinium, ogrodów oraz z cysterny na wodę, o czym mówi inskrypcja z grobowca Turkam anija.
W większości przypadków perystyl znajdował się przed fasadą grobową. Najlepiej za-chowany przykład takiego perystylu znajduje się w Grobowcu Urny, natom iast w innych obiektach pozostały tylko ślady po kolumnach sugerujące, że występował. Jego rozm iary były równie duże ja k w przypadku pałaców czy grobowców hellenistycznych Aleksandrii.
W K hasnet i G robowcu Korynckim mamy do czynienia jedynie z iluzją perystylu - wzn. występowaniem przedstawienia kolumnowego dziedzińca w górnej części fasady, nie stwierdzono natom iast istnienia wolno stojącego perystylu przed grobowcem. Podobnie jak malowidła II stylu pompejańskiego był to plastyczne, w miarę możliwości realistyczne przeniesiania na płaszczyznę architektury pałacowej Aleksandrii.
Perystyl występował tylko w grobowcach nabatejskich o rozbudow anej i bogatej architek-tonicznie fasadzie. Był oznaką bogactwa, statusu społecznego zmarłego. Prawdopodobnie wykorzystywano go do ceremonii religijnych związanych z kultem zmarłego i kultem deifiko- wanego króla. Niewątpliwie jego pojawienie się w architekurze nabatejskiej kojarzyć należy z wpływem hellenizmu w I w. p.n.e. i I w. n.e. w związku z handlem prow adzonym przez Nabatejczyków z Aleksandrią.
Fot. I. Petra - Reconstruction plan o f The Roman Soldier Tom b complex (Br. 239) (After: Bourbon 2001, p. 126; with Archivio W hite Star permission)
Fot. 2. Petra - Recostruction plan o f The Uneishu tomb complex (Br. 813): A - columned courtyard (the peristyle): В - loculi, С - burial chamber, D - triclinium, E - portico
Fot. 3. Petra - The Urn Tom b (Br. 772) (After: Nehme 1999, p. 152; with autor’s permission)
Fot. 6. Alexandria. Thalamegas — The river-boat of Ptolemy IV: a) — plan and b) — reconstruction (After: Nielsen 1993, fig. 71; with autor’s permission)
Fot. 7. Boscoreale - Villa of Sinistor. The Second Pompeian Style Painting (After: Schm idt-Colinet 1981, Abb. 37; with autor’s permission)
Fot. 8. Alexandria. Necropolis o f Mustapha Pashy. Tomb 1, view on south wall of the courtyard (After: Bernhard 1993, il. 48; with autor’s permission)
