Temnin el-Foka

Temnin el-Foka
History
Cultures	Roman
Site notes
Condition	Ruins
Public access	Yes

Temnin el-Foka

تمنين الفوقا
Temnin el-Foka تمنين الفوقا
	Temnine el-Faouqa, Lebanon, center of village
	Temnin el-Foka Location in Lebanon
	Coordinates: 33°54′N 35°59′E / 33.900°N 35.983°E
Country	Lebanon
Governorate	Baalbek-Hermel
District	Baalbek
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	+3

Temnin el-Foka (Template:Lang-ar) is a small village in the Baalbek District in Lebanon.

History

Temnin el-Foqa was created during Roman times, but the original name is unknown. The village is located at nearly 1100 meters of altitude and has a population of one thousand inhabitants.

Temnin el-Foka is famous because there it is a Roman nymphaeum.^[1] It is close to the spring of Ain el-Jobb.^[2]

One kilometer above the village along a narrow road leading steeply into the mountains, the nymphaeum is located in a small, protected pine and cypress forest. It is called Ain el-Jeb ("source of the fountain") in Arabic. The Roman sanctuary was partially built into the steep slope above a stream. It consists of a small barrel-vaulted room, in the bottom of which a four-meter deep shaft is bricked vertically downwards. This bends backwards at the bottom and is usually filled with groundwater, at least in winter and spring.^{[citation needed]}

In 1838, Eli Smith noted Temnin el-Foka's (or "Temnin the upper") population as being predominantly Metawileh.^[3]

The Roman nymphaeum

The nymphaeum is an arched watercourse built of large stones that has been constructed 4 metres (13 ft) deep into a hill. It leads to a cistern underground. A gulley has formed at the outflow, where a boundary pillar is carved with the image of a goddess. It resembles a similar cippus at Kafr Zabad.^[2]

The inner walls consist of four layers of massive, roughly hewn cuboids up to the vault. The top layer is completed by an unfinished cornice. At the rear end there is a slightly raised platform as Adyton. In the small semicircular niche on the back wall there must have been an image of the deity. It was probably a local deity of the flowing water, which can be seen on a stone slab in heavily weathered condition.^{[citation needed]}

An ante was attached to the vaulted room in the form of an ante, which ended with an architrave with three fascias (horizontal stripes) and an upper bead. The staircase leads up in the middle between two columns with Corinthian capitals that bear the architrave. The porch is heavily restored, the rectangular portal was supplemented from concrete.^{[citation needed]}

Only the vaulted arch and two rows of stones on the side walls were preserved before the restoration. The stone blocks of the side walls were piled up again, the pillars and capitals are largely new. Grooves can be seen in the longitudinal direction on the top of the vault. They may have served as a support for a wooden roof.

References

^ Brenda Longfellow (21 October 2010). Roman Imperialism and Civic Patronage: Form, Meaning and Ideology in Monumental Fountain Complexes. Cambridge University Press. pp. 118–. ISBN 978-0-521-19493-8. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
^ ^a ^b George Taylor (1967). The Roman temples of Lebanon: a pictorial guide. Dar el-Machreq Publishers. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. 144

Bibliography

Robinson, E.; Smith, E. (1841). Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838. Vol. 3. Boston: Crocker & Brewster.

External links

Temnine El Faouqa, Localiban

[Longfellow2010-1] Brenda Longfellow (21 October 2010). Roman Imperialism and Civic Patronage: Form, Meaning and Ideology in Monumental Fountain Complexes. Cambridge University Press. pp. 118–. ISBN 978-0-521-19493-8. Retrieved 14 November 2012.

[Taylor1967-2] George Taylor (1967). The Roman temples of Lebanon: a pictorial guide. Dar el-Machreq Publishers. Retrieved 1 November 2012.

[3] Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. 144

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Roman archaeological sites in Lebanon
Roman Berytus (actual Beirut)	Berytus ¹ Roman Forum of Berytus Berytus Roman Baths Cisterns of Berytus Baths Berytus Cardo Decumanus Berytus Colonnaded street Byzantine mosaics Roman hippodrome of Berytus Roman Law school of Berytus
Roman Phoenicia (actual Lebanon)	Heliopolis Temple of Bacchus Temple of Jupiter (Baalbek) Temples of Mount Hermon Temples of the Beqaa Valley Aaqbe temple Afqa Ain Aata temple Ain Harcha roman temple Amioun Monastery Arca Caesarea Augusti Pagus Bakka temple Batroumine Bziza temple Canalizations of Zenobia Dakoue temple Mansourieh Roman aqueduct Hebbariye temple Iaat column Kafr Zabad temples Khirbet El-Knese roman temples Labweh Roman temple Libbaya roman temple Monastery of Qozhaya Monastery of Saint Maron Nahle roman temple Nebi Safa temple Niha Hosn Niha Qalaat Faqra Qal'at Bustra temple Castra Chbib Castra El Banat Saraain El Faouqa Schleem roman temple Colonia Aurelia Pia "Sidon" Temnin el-Foka nymphaeum Tripolis in Phoenicia Tyrus ¹ Tyre Necropolis Roman temple to Venus in Yammoune
Related	Roman Lebanon Phoenice (Roman province) Palaestina Secunda Phoenice Libanensis Stone of the Pregnant Woman Ulpianus Marcus Valerius Probus Eudokia of Heliopolis Saint Barbara of Heliopolis Coele-Syria List of Christian cathedrals in Lebanon Christianity in Lebanon Catholic Church in Lebanon Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral 2nd century in Lebanon 3rd century in Lebanon 4th century in Lebanon 5th century in Lebanon 6th century in Lebanon 551 Beirut earthquake
¹ UNESCO World Heritage Sites ² Proposed Category:Roman sites in Lebanon

v t e Baalbek District, Baalbek-Hermel Governorate
Capital: Baalbek
Towns and villages	Ain Ainata Arsal Baalbek Barka Bednayel Bechwat Beit Chama - Aaqidiyeh Brital Btadhi Bodai Chaat Chlifa Chmestar - Gharbi Baalbeck Deir el Ahmar Douriss Fakiha - Jdeydeh Fleweh Hadath Baalbek Hallanieh Harbata Hizzine Hlabta Hosh Barada Hosh el Rafika Hosh Snid Haouch Tall Safiyeh Iaat Jabbouleh Janta Jebaa Jdeide Kfar Dane Kasarnaba Khodr Khraibeh Kneisseh Laat Labweh Majdloun Mikna Nabi Chit Nabi Othman Nahleh Qaa Qarha Ram - Jbenniyeh Ras Baalbek Ras el Hadis Saayde Seriine el Fawka Seriine el Tahta Talya Taraya Taybeh Temnin el Fawka Temnine Et Tahta Tfail Wadi Faara Yammouneh Younine
Other	Ard Tlaili Jabal es Saaïdé

History

The Roman nymphaeum

See also

References

Bibliography

External links