The village of Bziza houses a Roman temple, locally known as Saydet El Aouamid in relation to the church that was integrated within the original temple structure at some point.
Timeline
The structure was erected around the 2nd century AD, and was converted into a church during the medieval times.
Structure
Open to the northwest, the temple was built following the ionic order, of a tetrastyle prostyle design (prostyle refer to temples that feature a row of clumns on the front, and tetrastyle refer to temples that feature 4 pillars on its portico)
The temple preserved its pronaos (space of the temple’s entrance), its cella (section where the deity is venerated) and its adyton (sacred area inside the cella), while its entrance staircase have been dismanteled.
The entablature (upper part of the temple supported by columns) preserved above the large front door, probably extended all around the building. Inside, each of the gutter walls is decorated with two niches, the first conch-shaped, the second rectangular.
The back of the temple, on the northern side, was remodeled and an apse was integrated when the structure became a church.
Dedication
While some scholars and local tales presume that the temple is dedicated to semetic god Azizos who is associated with the morning star, the diety cannot be confirmed since not inscriptions were found on site.
Karim Sokhn
Tour Operator & Tour Guide
References
La Vie Religieuse Au Liban Sous L’Empire Romain – Julien Aliquo
