An architectural block with altar-iconography from the North-west Quarter of Jerash

Abstract

This article considers a monumental architectural limestone block with altar-iconography that was found during the 2012 campaign of the Danish–German North-west Quarter project. The project, which began in 2011, has mapped the highest area within the walled city, the so-called North-west Quarter, which had hitherto remained largely unexplored. The monumental block, which was in secondary use as a late antique oil press, gives new insight into the local building traditions in Gerasa. The authors suggest that this block originally came from a building with a sacred function. Through comparison with other local sanctuaries from the region, as well as from Gerasa itself where the tradition of the horned altar-motif seems to have been flourishing in the Roman period, it is shown that this block might have belonged to a sanctuary dedicated to a deity of a local character.