Cyrrhus: Study of the Citadel

Parrdouaud Terrains

the archaeological site

The site of Cyrrhus-Nebi Houri is located near the Syrian-Turkish border. The city, covering nearly 65 hectares and the capital of Cyrrhestica, was founded by Seleucus I and then successively occupied during the Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic periods.

Its location on the main routes leading from Antioch to the Euphrates or towards Commagene made it a site of primary strategic importance.

The mission

The Lebanese-Syrian mission, created in 2006 by J. Abdul Massih (Lebanese University) and Sh. Al Shbib (DGAMS Idlib), resumed the study, with three main objectives:

– the study of the city’s development, its urban plan, and its territory during different periods of occupation

– the study and restoration of various monuments, including the Byzantine mausoleum of Nebi Houri, the Roman theater, and the fortifications

– the publication of new data as well as the material and archives of the former French mission.

The citadel of Cyrrhus, viewed towards the southwest.
Photo by Y. Guichard, Cyrrhus-Nebi Houri Archaeological Mission.

The study of the citadel was entrusted to Mr. Gelin, with the aim of determining its main stages of construction and its relationship with the lower town. The initial results of the mission made it possible, among other things, to clarify the layout and date of the fortifications of the citadel and the lower town, with particular attention given to the south gate, to identify the boundaries of the Hellenistic city, to trace the main street during the Roman and Byzantine periods, to study a church and a basilica, and finally, to uncover a Roman house paved with mosaics.

Bibliography
  • Abdul Massih J., Benech C., Gelin M., “First results on the city planning of Cyrrhus (Syria)”, Mémoire du sol, espace des hommes, Archéosciences. Revue d’archéométrie 33, suppl., 2009, p. 201-203, ISBN 978-2-7535-0943-6. http://www.cairn.info/revue-archeosciences-2009-1.htm.
  • Abdul Massih J., Gelin M., “Notes préliminaires sur le système défensif méridional de Cyrrhus, campagnes 2007-2008”, Chronique archéologique en Syrie 4, Damas, 2010, p. 199-218. https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03138930/document
  • Abdul Massih J., Gelin M., “Fortifications and town planning in Kyrrhos: its Hellenistic origin and its evolution”, Focus on Fortifications: New Research on Fortifications in the Ancient Mediterranean and the Near-East (Fokus Fortification Studies 2, Monographs of the Danish Institute at Athens), R. Frederiksen, M. Schnelle, S. Muth and P. Schneider eds., Oxford-Havertown, 2016, p. 187-200, ISBN 978-1-78570-131-3. https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03025892/document
  • Gelin M., “Les fortifications hellénistiques de Cyrrhus-Nebi Houri : étude archéologique et géophysique”, Syria 95, 2018, p. 375-395. https://journals.openedition.org/syria/7701

Publications similaires