Mount Asis, a Syrian archaeological site that houses the oldest palaces of the Umayyads in the desert

Damascus (ST): Mount Asis is located within the Syrian Hammad region on the volcanic rock to the east of Hejana, forming part of Horan Mount, where this name was discovered in a text inscribed on a basalt rock dating back to the Umayyad era, now preserved in the National Museum in Damascus.

The site is 105 kilometers away from the city of Damascus towards the southeast and administratively follows the Douma region. Archaeological researcher, Dr. Mahmoud Hammoud pointed out that Yaqut al-Hamawi mentioned it in the dictionary of countries as the oldest of Mount, and he described it as a shrine for the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid Ibn Abd al-Malek.

Regarding the archaeological excavations that were conducted at the site, Dr. Hammoud explained that the German mission was the first to carry out excavation works in 1962 where it became clear to it that  Mount Asis is one of the most important sites representing the Umayyad desert architecture and is still preserved until now.

Dr. Hammoud said that the most important part  of the site is the palace, which is the oldest of the Umayyad palaces in the desert and extends 300 meters in length. It is also one of the oldest Islamic buildings in which plaster decoration was used, explaining that the palace includes a mosque and a bath, which is the oldest Islamic bath building built outside cities.

Concerning the pieces found in the palace, Hammoud mentioned that they include 106 basalt inscriptions on which there are drawings and writings in simple Kufic script that represent images of animals and people in different situations and provide an idea of the conditions of people who lived in this region from the 2nd to the 8th century AD, especially those who lived in the palace during the Umayyad era, or who visited the site for some time as men of merchant caravans.

K.Q.