Six years ago, a bulldozer was digging foundations for sewage pipes near the Jordanian city of Irbid when it burst into an ancient tomb.
The site turned out to be one of the most important archaeological finds in recent times in Hauran, a plain at the crossroads of the ancient world, stretching from the north of modern day Jordan to the outskirts of Damascus.
Enough details survived, mainly from a red mural on one wall of the tomb, to discern 64 Greek and Aramaic inscriptions written above figures depicting workers and other people.
Many were builders of Capitolias, one of a group of cities called the Decapolis League. Pliny the Elder wrote about it in Natural History, his epic work, almost two millennia ago.
The 10 or so Greek cities were founded or expanded as part of Rome's drive to establish vassal states that would act as an eastern buffer in the aftermath of its conquest of Palestine in 63AD.
“Alas for me. I am dead”, a phrase on the wall reads next to a figure of a man apparently falling from the city wall of Capitolias.
“Thick, stupid,” reads another inscription above a scene of two men facing each other.
Other scenes show masons, quarries, architects, labourers and methods for transporting and moving construction material, according to a summary of a study by the Institut Francais du Proche-Orient (Ifpo).
The inscriptions, as well as other frescoes in the tomb, depict daily life and hint as to how the local Aramaic population dealt with Greek and Roman overlords, and the Gods invoked in the construction of Capitolias, the study says.
Opposite the entrance, which leads to a 38 square-metre main room, is a large basalt sarcophagus. No one knows who the tomb was for. Additional bodies were placed in it for hundreds of years, although it could have originally been built for someone who was influential in the city's construction.
The National was let into the tomb as part of a tour organised by Jordan’s Department of Antiquities for French diplomats and personnel from Ifpo, one of several western organisations working with the department to preserve and study the site through a US-funded project.
Among them is the American Centre of Oriental Research and the Italian Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro, which is has been involved for years in rescuing Qusayr Amra, an Umayyad era gem in Jordan's eastern desert.
The two-chamber tomb is accessible only by ladder because its main entrance is buried under the terrain. It is situated next to a government school in Beit Ras, a suburb of Irbid, Jordan’s second city.
There are no plans to open the tomb to the public anytime soon, and most of Capitolias remains unexcavated. But there are many other archaeological sites nearby, such as the ruins of Gadara, another member of the Decapolis League with views of the Golan Heights and the Sea of Galilee.
The Dar Al Saraya Museum in Irbid, the provincial capital, has artefacts spanning the 16,000 year history of the region. They are housed in the old saray building, Irbid’s seat of rule during the Ottoman era.
An easy-going mood prevails in the region, partly because of its commercial and societal links to a more cosmopolitan Syria.
Ziad Ghnimat, director of antiquities in the Irbid governorate, was constantly smiling throughout the tour of Bayt Ras tomb, proud of his home city of Irbid and its history.
He pointed out the ruins of a 5,000-seat theatre, unearthed in Bayt Ras in the 1990s, obscured from view by humble concrete houses and an olive grove.
He said beneath the modern construction sits possibly a site as expansive as Jerash, the best preserved city of the Decapolis, or Gadara.
But they do not have Capitolias's tomb.
“It is rare that we find depictions detailing the construction of an ancient city, let alone one belonging to Decapolis”, Mr Ghnimat said.
“In that aspect the tomb is unique.”
The biog
From: Upper Egypt
Age: 78
Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila
Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace
Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Essentials
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
Haemoglobin disorders explained
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
How to donate
Text the following numbers:
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*numbers work for both Etisalat and du
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Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
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Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Aldar Properties Abu Dhabi T10
*November 15 to November 24
*Venue: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
*Tickets: Start at Dh10, from ttensports.com
*TV: Ten Sports
*Streaming: Jio Live
*2017 winners: Kerala Kings
*2018 winners: Northern Warriors
MAIN CARD
Bantamweight 56.4kg
Abrorbek Madiminbekov v Mehdi El Jamari
Super heavyweight 94 kg
Adnan Mohammad v Mohammed Ajaraam
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Zakaria Eljamari v Faridoon Alik Zai
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Mahmood Amin v Taha Marrouni
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Ilyass Habibali v Haroun Baka
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3ECBDC%20real-value%20pilot%20held%20with%20three%20partner%20institutions%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPreparing%20buy%20now%2C%20pay%20later%20regulations%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPreparing%20for%20the%202023%20launch%20of%20the%20domestic%20card%20initiative%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPhase%20one%20of%20the%20Financial%20Infrastructure%20Transformation%20(FiT)%20completed%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
The years Ramadan fell in May
More on Quran memorisation:
