Cyrrhus | Nebi Houri | Aleppo Overview

Jeanine Abdul Massih

This grant will be for the publication of the archives of the former French archaeological mission of Cyrrhus Nebi Houri (Aleppo, Syria) and particularly a monograph on the Roman Theater.

Situated at 70km north of Aleppo, Cyrrhus is localized on the Turkish border in an agriculture environment. Entirely preserved (ramparts, acropolis and main gates, etc.) this Seleucid foundation is reoccupied by the Roman and became an important military base in the wars against the Parthian. After, a period of abandon the site is reoccupied by the Byzantine and in the Islamic periods. The city is entirely abandoned by the end of the twelve century.

The Roman Theater of Cyrrhus is dated of the II century A.D. it is the second largest theater of Syria behind Apamea of the Orontes.

It was excavated by Edmond Frézouls (Strasbourg University - specialist of the theaters of the Orient) director of the French Archaeological Mission of Cyrrhus from 1952 to 1980. The results of the excavations where not published and the sudden death in 1995 of the Director of the French archaeological team left the site, the archives, the documents, the plans unexplored.

The Lebanese Syrian archaeological mission of Cyrrhus Nebi Houri, created in 2006, undertook the gathering of all the archives and documentations from the family of the former director, from the architects of the mission and from different institutions as: the French Institute of Archaeology of the Near-East (Lebanon, Syria), the Institute of Research on Antique Architecture (France) and the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums of Syria.

A colossal documentation was assembled for the Roman Theater constituted of an important graphic documentation as hundred’s of plans and details of the phases of excavation, architectural and decorative elements as well as restitutions and final plans and drawings. This documentation is accompanied by a draft of text on the history and the theater of Cyrrhus.

In this grant the plans, photos and documents will be digitalized, redrawn and finalized for the publication along with the reexamination of the text on the theater by a specialist of Roman Monumental Architecture. Theses documents and plans will be presented in one volume published in French and translated to Arabic to be the first monograph on Roman Theaters published in this language. This publication based on the archives will be including contributions written by many experts member of the actual archaeological mission on: the history, the analysis of the construction phases of the theater and the study on sculpture and decorative stones used on the monument. The plates and photos must prepare for the entire volume.