This city is placed among those of the Decapolis, in Matthew, vii. 28;
and it is from a rock near it, from which the swine are described as
having ran down into the Dead Sea. By some it is included in Coelosyria;
by others in Arabia.
The ruins of this city were discovered by the well known traveller, M.
Seetzen (Conseiller d'Ambassade de S. M. l'Empereur de Russie). His
letters were addressed to M. von Zach, Grand Marshal of the court of
Saxe Gotha, and part of them appeared, at different times, in the
Moniteur. Some members of the National Institute sent over these papers
to Sir Joseph Banks, by whom they were forwarded to the Palestine
Association.
One of the most interesting portions of this journal is that, which
comprises the account of the ruins of Jerrash, situated in about the
centre of the Holy Land, the dilapidated buildings of which had, till
then, escaped the notice of its lovers of antiquity, and which, for
beauty and importance, may be compared to those of Palmyra and Balbec.
"_Jerrash_," says our journalist, "is situated in an open and tolerably
fertile plain, through which a river runs. Before entering the town, I
found several sarcophagi, with very beautiful bas-reliefs, among which I
remarked one, on the edge of the road, with a Greek inscription. The
walls of the town are mouldered away, but one may yet trace their whole
extent, which may have been three-quarters of a league, or a whole one.
These walls were entirely built of hewn marble. The ground within it is
of unequal heights, and falls towards the river. Not a single private
house remains entire; but on the other hand, I observed several public
buildings which were distinguished by a very beautiful style of
architecture. I found two superb amphitheatres, solidly built of marble,
with columns, niches, &c. the whole in good preservation. I found also
some palaces, and three temples, one of which has a peristyle of twelve
grand columns of the Corinthian order, eleven of which are still
upright. In another of these temples, I saw a column on the ground, of
most beautiful polished Egyptian granite. I also found a handsome gate
of the city, well preserved, formed of three arcades, and ornamented
with pilasters.
"The most beautiful thing I discovered was a long street, crossed by
another, and ornamented on both sides with a row of marble columns of
the Corinthian order, and one of whose extremities terminated in a
semicircle, that was set round with sixty pillars, of the Ionic order.
At the points where the two streets cross, in each of the four angles, a
large pedestal of hewn stone is visible, on which probably statues were
formerly set. A part of the pavement remains, formed of hewn stones.
"To speak generally, I counted about two hundred columns, which yet
partly support their entablatures, but the number of those overthrown is
infinitely more considerable: I saw indeed but half the extent of the
town, and a person would probably still find in the other half, on the
opposite side of the river, a quantity of remarkable curiosities.
"Jerrash can be no other than the ancient Geresa, one of the Decapolitan
towns. It is difficult to conceive that so much ignorance of its real
situation should exist, as would allow Monsieur Paulus, in his map, to
have placed it to the _north_-east of the northern extremity of the Lake
of Tiberias. I do not know whether any ancient geographer has made the
same mistake. From a fragment of a Greek inscription, which I copied, I
am led to conclude, that several of the buildings of this town were
erected under the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. The Roman history
may, perhaps, furnish some data in corroboration of this conjecture. It
is, at all events, certain, that the edifices of this town are of the
age of the most beautiful Roman architecture."
Gerasa has been since visited by other travellers, from whose report we
learn, that the principal curiosities of antiquity are, a temple adorned
in front with a double row of six columns in each row, of which nine are
standing; and on each side of the temple there remains one column
belonging to the single row of pillars, that surrounded the temple on
every side except the front. Of these eleven columns are entire, and two
are without capitals. They are of the Corinthian order; their capitals
being beautifully ornamented with the acanthus leaf. The interior of
this temple is choked with the ruins of the roof. The number of columns
which originally adorned the temple and its area, was not less than from
200 to 250. "The whole edifice," says Burckhardt*, "seems to have been
superior in taste and magnificence to every public building of the kind
in Syria,--the temple of the Sun at Palmyra excepted."
To the west of this, at about two hundred yards distance, are the
remains of a small temple, with three Corinthian pillars, still
standing. Not far from this are two colonnades, of which thirty broken
shafts are yet standing, and two entire columns, but without capitals;
and opposite to these are five columns, with their capitals and
entablatures. Originally there were about fifty.
At a short distance from these there are other columns, much larger; and
still farther on seventeen Corinthian, all of which are united by their
entablature. Some of these are twenty-one, some twenty-five, and others
thirty feet high. Their entablatures are slightly ornamented with
sculptured bas-reliefs.
In other parts of the ruins are other columns; and a large open space is
enclosed by a magnificent semicircle of columns in a single row;
fifty-seven columns are yet standing; originally, it is supposed, there
were sixty. On entering the forum there are four, and then twenty-one,
united by their entablatures. To the left, five, seven, and twenty,
united in the same manner. They are of the Ionic order; thus differing
from all the others.
At the end of a semicircle are several basins, which seem to have been
reservoirs of water; and remains of an aqueduct are still visible. To
the right and left are some other chambers. From this spot the ground
rises; and on mounting a low but steep hill, Mr. Burckhardt found on its
top a beautiful temple, commanding a view over the greater part of the
town. Not far from this are the remains of a theatre. It fronted the
town; so that the spectators, seated on the highest row of benches,
enjoyed the prospect of all its buildings and quarters. At the back runs
the town wall.
In another part of the town are found in every direction columns of
considerable height, some still standing, others lying prostrate, some
having inscriptions on their pedestals. In many parts, the streets are
absolutely rendered impassable from fragments; indeed we have not space
to describe all that is to be seen among these splendid remains. There
are 190 columns still standing, and 100 half columns. In respect to
private habitations, there are none in a state of preservation; but the
whole of the area within the walls is covered with their ruins.
In one of the temples Mr. Irby noticed a curious singularity, viz.--a
chamber under ground, below the principal hall of one of the temples,
with a bath in the centre. "There are numerous inscriptions in all
directions," says Mr. Irby, "chiefly of the time of Antoninus Pius; most
of them much mutilated. On the whole, we hold Djerash to be a much finer
mass of ruins than Palmyra. This city has three entrances of richly
ornamented gateways; and the remains of the wall, with its occasional
towers, are in wonderful preservation.
"Gerasa," says Mr. Robinson, "was nearly square, each side something
less than a mile, the walls crossing the river in two places at right
angles; the other two sides being parallel to each other on opposite
sides of the hill. The greater part of the inclosed space is covered
with the ruins of houses, forming a deep contrast with the elegant
specimens of art, whichever way the eye is turned. From the triumphal
arch on the south-west side to the wall inclosing the north-east, along
both sides of the stream, the whole space is covered; also east and west
of it, up the sides of the hill. There are several small eminences
within the walls, from one of which, near the northern theatre, the view
of columns seems interminable, and that of the rest of the ruins is
beyond every thing attractive from this spot;--it is indeed a perfect
gallery of art."
The smaller theatre, Mr. Robinson is inclined to believe, was used for
purposes different from the other; the area below the seats being more
extensive, and furnished with a suite of dark, arched chambers, opening
into it. The latter was, probably, used to confine the wild beasts
destined to combat in the arena; such exhibitions being in vogue at the
time Gerasa may be supposed to have flourished[251].