Heshterek; Hachtarak Complete

Description

Heshterek / Hachtarak, a village situated to the south-west of Ḥāḥ, near Kafr Ze/Kafar-Zé in the Ṭūr ʿAbdīn region. The site was visited by Henri Pognon who offered a description of its environment, buildings, and inscriptions. His report mentions an ancient church, then in ruin. Form the local population he learned that it was reoportedly dedicated to Saint Addai. Among other buildings and architectural features of the site, Pognon described a courtyard (?), and a house of prayer/oratory/chapel ܒܝܬ ܨܠܘܬܐ. This oratory has a simple squarish plan and a vaulted ceiling. In spite of its humble construction, it is rich in Syriac inscriptions, though most of them come from the medieval period. The inscriptions record the names of the deceased people and Pognon supposed the existence of a burial complex under the building, though was unable to verify this hypothesis. In fact, the presence of epitaphs does not necessarily mean that there were burials under the floor. The chapel could only serve for commemorative purposes. Literature: Pognon, H., Inscriptions sémitiques de la Syrie, de la Mésopotamie et de la région de Mossoul (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale), no. 96; Barṣawm, I.E. 1964. Maktbonūtô d‘al atrô dṬūr ‘Abdīn, Lebanon (repr. Glane, 1985), p. 139; Palmer, A. 1987. “A corpus of inscriptions from Tur ʿAbdin and environs”, Oriens Christianus 71, no. A5 (dr.).