A Series of Photogrammetry for Protection of Syrian Cultural Heritage
Ancient Village of Northern Syria Vol. 3

W

S

N

E

Serjilla

Akira Tsuneki
Nobuya WatanabeSari Jammo

2019

A Series of Photogrammetry for Protection of Syrian Cultural Heritage

Ancient Villages of Northern Syria
Vol. 3

SerjillaA Series of Photogrammetry for Protection of Syrian Cultural Heritage

Ancient Villages of Northern Syria
Vol. 3

Serjillaby
Akira Tsuneki
Nobuya WatanabeSari Jammo

Financial support for this project was provided by
The Agency for Cultural Affairs of the Japanese Government

A Series of Photogrammetry for Protection of Syrian Cultural Heritage
Ancient Villages of Northern Syria
Vol. 2
Serjilla

By
Akira Tsuneki
Nobuya WatanabeSari Jammo

Research Center for West Asian Civilization, University of Tsukuba

All rights reserved.
Printed in Tsukuba, Japan, 2019

1. Ancient Villages in Northern Syria Photogrammetry Project: Church at Serjilla
Akira TSUNEKI
Since 2016, the University of Tsukuba has received financial support for the protection of Syrian
cultural heritage from the Agency for Cultural Affairs of the Japanese Government. We are now
executing three basic operations: 1) Teaching young Syrians about the importance of Syrian
cultural heritage, 2) Documentation of endangered Syrian cultural heritage, and 3) Preparation ofmanuals regarding the safeguarding of cultural heritage in the field and museums. This booklet isthe third result of our second operation, 2) Documentation of endangered Syrian cultural heritage.
For the second operation, we conducted a photogrammetry project at one of six Syria’s World
Heritage sites, the “Ancient Villages of Northern Syria.” The Ancient Villages of Northern Syria
are located in the limestone mountains of northwestern Syria, consisting of Jabal Saiman in thenorth, Jabal Barish and Wastani in the middle, and Jabal Zawiye in the south, extending for about
2000 km2. Archaeological investigations of the limestone mountains (Le Massif Calcaire) startingwith those conducted by
Vogue(1865-1877)

andButlar (1920) have identified
a huge number of RomanByzantine settlements in the
area.

Systematicinvestigations by Tchalenko(1953) revealed evidence ofover 700 ancient settlementsthat prospered during theRoman-Byzantine

periods(from the 1st to 7th centuries)(Figs. 1 and 2). The villages inthese mountains flourished asa result of olive oil production
and trade. The production ofthis local olive oil occurred at
the end of the prosperity of
Fig.1 Location of Serjilla (Source, Abdulkarim, andCharpentier 2016)1

the Roman Empire. The combination of wellpreservedbuilding

remains

andlimestone

mountains create an impressive historical landscape,and this unique cultural heritage has long attracted
the interest of archaeologists and the public.
However, severe damage to the architecture of thesesites have been reported repeatedly during the recent
conflict.

Therefore,

we

decidedtobegin

documenting the architecture of these uniquecultural heritage sites. We dispatched our Syrian
colleagues to the sites, where they took digital
photographs of the target architecture. Using thesephotographs, we created 3D images of the target
architecture. Among the enormous amount ofRoman-Byzantine architecture at the sites, we
focused on recording early churches. The remains ofFig. 2

Limestone mountains ofNorthwestern Syria

the early churches in the limestone mountains provide a wealth of information about theappearance and development of churches (Butler 1920, Tchalenko et Baccache 1978-1980).
A church at Qalb Lozeh was our first target for documentation, and the results were published as
A Series of Photogrammetry for Protection of Syrian Cultural Heritage: Ancient Villages ofNorthern Syria Vol. 1: Qalb Lozeh (Tsuneki, Watanabe, and Jammo 2017). A 5th-century church
at Al-Bara was our second target, and the results were published as A Series of Photogrammetryfor Protection of Syrian Cultural Heritage: Ancient Villages of Northern Syria Vol. 2: Al-Bara(Tsuneki, Watanabe, Jammo, and Takizawa 2017). The 3D images of churches at Qalb Lozeh and
Al-Bara can be viewed and utilized via the following URL.
http://rcwasia.hass.tsukuba.ac.jp/bunka/
A 4th-century church at Serjilla was selected as our third target for 3D documentation and isoutlined in this booklet.
Serjilla (‫)ﺳﯿﺮﺟﯿﻠﺔ‬35°40′15″N,

36°35′01″E altitude: 460m

Serjilla is located 5km east of the contemporary large settlement of Al-Bara in the Zawiye
Mountains. It was built on both sides of a small valley, consisting of monumental tombs; publicbuildings such as baths, inns, a church compound and olive oil presses; and many domestic houses2

(Fig. 3). One of the olive
oilpressesislarge,

measuring 15 x 10m, andwell-preserved. It is able tosuccessfully convey theconditionofRoman-

Byzantine

olive

oil

production. The village
itself dates back to the 1st
centuryAD

abandoned

and

was

the

7th

in

century AD.
A church compound was
discovered on the eastern
slope of the small valley.
The compound itself isFig. 3 Map of Serjilla village (Source, Abdulkarim and Charpentier

large, but its state of

2016)

preservation is relatively
poor.

The

preserved

apse

is

to

the

up

springing of the half
dome. Based on the formof the Basilica (Fig. 4)
and the style of the doorcap, both Butler (1920)
andTchalenko(1958)

suggested that this church
dated to the middle of the
fourthcentury

A.D.

Therefore, this Serjilla
church is an example ofthe early style of churches
in northwestern Syria

Fig. 4 A plan of Serjilla 4th Century Church (Butler 1920, ill.
22)3

Bibliography
Abdulkarim, M. and Charpentier G. 2016 Sergilla, Rywuga abd El-Bâra (Idlib), in Kanjou, Y. andTsuneki, A. A History of Syria in One Hundred Sites :393-400, Archaeopress Archaeology,
Oxford.
Butler, H. C. 1920 Early Churches in Syria, Fourth to Seventh Centuries, Princeton.
Callot, O. 1984 Huileries Antiques de Syrie du nord, Bibliothèque archéologique et historique,t. 118） P. Geuthner, Paris
Tate, G., Abdulkarim, M., Charpentier, G., Duvette, C. et Piaton, C. 2013 Serğilla, a village
d’Apamène

Beyrouth-Damas, Presses de l’Ifpo, Bibliothèque Archéologique etHistorique - Tome 203
Tchalenko, G. 1953

Villages Anitiquities de la Syrie du Nord: Le Massif de Bélus à l’Époque

Romaine, Paris.
Tchalenko, G. et Baccache, E., 1979-1980

Eglises de village de la Syrie du nord （Bibliothèquearchéologique et historique, t. 105 . Documents d'archéologie : la Syrie à l'époque del'Empire romain d'Orient ; no. 1） Librairie orientaliste P. Geuthner.
Vogüé, M. de

1865-1877 Syrie Centrale, Architecture Civil et Religieuse, du 1er au Ve sicles,

Paris.

4

2. Serjilla :Preservation Status, Current Condition and 3D Photogrammetry
Sari JAMMO
1. Abstract
Serjilla is one of the best-preserved Byzantine-era sites in the Ancient Villages of Northern Syria.
Serjilla is located to the south of Idlib city in the Jebel Zawiye area, close to the ruins of Al-Bara.
Archaeological work began in this region in the 1930s with an archaeological mission directedby the French scholar G. Tchalenko (Tchalenko 1953). Excavation and survey works in the area
have provided abundant information about the history of these cities, indicating that occupationof this region began in the first century AD. The region reached the summit of its development
and prosperity with the spread of Christianity. Serjilla is spread over a small valley andsurrounding hills. The settlement includes a remarkably well-preserved church, inn, public baths,
olive oil presses, tombs, and several villas, representing a complete typical village of the period(Fig. 1).
Since 2011, a large number of archaeology sites, standing ruins, and museums have suffered froman excessive level of vandalism and destruction, mainly due to military action and looting (Jammo2015). Furthermore, some of the sites seem to have been intentionally and systematicallydestroyed to the extent that they may eventually disappear, such as in Al-Bara Ancient city.
Recently, the most common and pressing phenomena is the dismantling of archaeological ruins,as the stones are recycled into carved or hewn blocks and are sold to local people for use in newhouses (Tsuneki, Watanabe, and Jammo 2017). Unfortunately, most of the Ancient Villages ofNorthern Syria sites have been subjected to this kind of vandalism. In some instances, the ruins
becomequarriesandthe main stonesourcesformodernbuilding, andpeople freely
accessandextractthestones(Tsuneki et al.
2018).

Figure 1 General view for Serjilla52. Paramilitary Survey in SerjillaIn

continuation

of

our

previous projects over the
past two years in Qalb Lozeh
Church and al-Bara Ancient
city, the Serjilla site wasselected for 3D modeling due
to its importance and that ofthechurchinparticular.

Fortunately, at the time of the
project, the site had survived
military

actions;surprisingly

it

was

well-preserved

and had withstood the wave
of destruction of culturalproperties, unlike adjacentsites in the same region (Fig.
2). The site was protected byan armed group of locals who
prevented the public fromaccessing the site in order toprotect the ruins from being
used as a quarry for stone formodern buildings. Most, if
not all, of the buildings
remained intact; however,evidence of clashes that have

Figure 2 The current condition of Serjilla’s buildings

taken place in or near the site could be seen through traces of shelling on the external walls ofsome buildings (Fig. 3).
Even though the condition of preservation in Serjilla is better than that of other sites in the region,
instances of vandalism were documented; limited illegal excavations were observed in several
parts of the site. Luckily, these illegal excavations did not cause considerable damage to the siteor to the buildings that had been affected. For instance, six holes measured about 1.5 meter indiameter and 1.5 meter in depth were identified along the external and interior sides of thenorthern wall and near the apse (Fig. 4).
6

Figure 3 Traces of munitions fire

Figure 4 Illegal excavations7

3. Building description
The church building has a T-shape with an axis that is aligned east‒west (apse-entrance). The
structure is not complete, and the walls are not high apart from in some parts of the apse andentrance sides. The church is connected to other annex buildings at the west and south. Before theentrance to the church’s main building or “sanctuary,” there is an entrance to an attached building.
The church has two side aisles on the right and left and another in the center leading to the apse.
The side aisles have doors that lead to small rooms located on the right and left of the apse.
The church sanctuary is divided into three aisles (right, central, and left) by a row of eight stone
columns. All of the sanctuary columns have collapsed; their stone fragments are scattered on the
ground but their bases are still standing. Only two columns on the right and left side of the apse
stand intact. The right and left aisles have the same plan and end with a door in the east. The
central aisle ends at the church apse, which has a small door-opening leading to the right-side
small room (Figs. 5, 6).

Figure 5 Aerial photo showing the plan of the church and attached buildings

8Figure 6 The apse small door-opening
4. Photogrammetric process
Sergilla is a relatively large site and contains many beautiful buildings. The church was chosen
as the object of 3D modelling because it is one of the oldest churches in the region.. The small
size of the church building and its relatively low walls allowed photos to be taken freely from all
sides and directions. The tools, as usual, were simple: a camera, pole, and drone. Most of the work
was undertaken using the photos taken at ground level. The camera pole was sufficient forreaching the higher elevation and taking photos from above. The work was successfully
accomplished, step by step, wall by wall, layer by layer, employing more than a 70% overlap ofhorizontal and vertical photos, appropriate timing, dead spots, shadows, and following all
instructions in the photogrammetry for cultural heritage brochure (Watanabe 2017).
About 4,000 ground and aerial photos and some video footage were required to cover all theinternal and external facades. While the ground photos only covered the church, the aerial photos
covered the church and the attached building. This helped us to build a 3D model of the entire
targeted area in the site.
5. Conclusion
Archaeological sites and cultural properties in Syria are the country’s most distinguishing features.
Therefore, local people in Syria have a responsibility to safeguard and protect their heritage.
9

Unfortunately, many people do not share this sense of responsibility, and the resulting lack of
cultural awareness is visible through vandalism of archaeological sites. The wish is that these
documentation projects working in cooperation with civil organization groups will contributetowards safeguarding Syrian cultural heritage. It is also hoped that these projects will pay
significant attention to improving knowledge provision and building awareness for locals in
relation to Syrian cultural heritage. Further, these documentation projects will facilitate futurereconstruction work in the case that any of these buildings face the destiny of destruction.

Photo annex

Interior eastern facade10View from the northInterior north eastern facade11Southern side attached building

Sanctuary

12

Aerial photos

13

14

References
Jammo, S. 2015. Under Threat of

Losing Identity: Syrian Heritage in Danger. In Investigationof the endangered cultural heritage in Syria. Research Center for West Asian Civilization,
University of Tsukuba, pp. 21-35.
Tchalenko, G. 1953 Villages Anitiquities de la Syrie du Nord: Le Massif de Bélus à lʼÉpoque
Romaine, Paris.
Tsuneki, A., Watanabe, N., Jammo, S., Takizawa, M. 2018. A Series of Photogrammetry forProtection of Syrian Cultural Heritage. Ancient Villages of Northern Syria Vol. 2. al-Bara.
Research Center for West Asian Civilization, University of Tsukuba.
Tsuneki, A., Watanabe, N., Jammo, S. 2017. A Series of Photogrammetry for Protection of Syrian
Cultural Heritage. Ancient Villages of Northern Syria Vol. 1. Qalb Lozeh. Research Center
for West Asian Civilization, University of Tsukuba.
Watanabe, N. 2017 Photogrammetry for Cultural Heritage, Booklets for protection of Syrian
Cultural Heritage Vol. 1. Research Center for West Asian Civilization, University ofTsukuba.

15

3. Digital documentation of the Church in Serjilla
Nobuya WATANABE

Digital documentation was conducted using photogrammetric techniques to record the church in Serjilla. Photographs
were collected by local cooperators and were sent to the researchers via the internet. Photographs were taken using both
handheld cameras and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). The final 3D model was built by combining the models derived
from each set of photographs. The 3D model was processed with SfM software (Agisoft PhotoScan Pro) and was cleaned
and edited using Meshlab, CloudCompare, and Blender. Further documentation such as digital drawings, 360 degrees
movies, and VR contents were implemented based on this 3D model. The results of the 3D model and the derived
contents will be introduced in this report.
1.

Derived 3D model

About 130 UAV photographs and 2,000 handheld photographs were used to generate this model. 3D models at different
detail levels were prepared for different uses (e.g. the higher-level model for measurement, the lower for visualization).
The figures in this chapter are based on the middle-detail model (about 7,500,000 faces).

16

1.1.

View around the apse

Fig. 1 Upper: Colored 3D model around the apse (looking from the west)
Fig. 2 Lower: Same view in shaded 3D model

17

1.2.

View from the northFig. 3 Upper: Colored 3D model (looking from the north)Fig. 4 Lower: Same view in shaded 3D model
18

1.3.

View from the south

Fig. 5 Upper: Colored 3D model (looking from the south)
Fig. 6 Lower: Same view in shaded 3D model
19

1.4.

View from the east

Fig. 7 Upper: Colored 3D model (looking from the east)
Fig. 8 Lower: Same view in shaded 3D model

20

1.5.

View from the west

Fig. 9 Upper: Colored 3D model (looking from the west)
Fig. 10 Lower: Same view in shaded 3D model21

2.

GIS data (Geocoded orthophoto data)

GIS raster data (orthophoto) was generated with coordinates (in WGS84 LatLon and WGS84 UTM Zone37N).
Following is an example of map derived by GIS using this data.

Fig. 1 Map derived by GIS software using geocoded orthophoto.
22

3.

Othophotos and drawings for plans

3.1.

Floor plan

Fig. 2 Left: Orthophoto of the floor plan Right: Digital traced floor plan
3.2.

Elevation plan (Apse)

Fig. 3 Orthophoto of the elevation plan around the apse.
23

Fig. 4 Digital traced elevation plan (around the apse)

3.3.

Side elevation plan (from northwest, outer wall)Fig. 5 Orthophoto of the side elevation plan (northwest outer wall)24

Fig. 6 Digital traced side elevation plan (northwest outer wall)

3.4.

Side elevation plan (from northwest, inner walls)

Fig. 7 Orthophoto of the side elevation plan (northwest inner wall)25

Fig. 8 Digital traced side elevation plan (northwest inner wall)

26

4.

360 degree 3D movie for the Head Mount Displays (HMD)

A 360-degree 3D movie was prepared from the 3D model. This movie can be played by a movie viewer with 360 degree(and 3D) capabilities or with HMD. HMD allows users to look around the sites in 3D (it is also possible to drag andturn the viewer’s perspective when using a PC and supported software).

Fig. 9 360 degree 3D movie (played in Movies & TV app in Windows10)
5.

VR contents for Oculus GO (Virtual tour ofSerejilla)

VR contents have been created that allow the user tovirtually move around Serjilla. These contents can bedisplayed in Oculus GO or on a PC to take virtual
tours of the reconstructed site.

Fig. 10 Virtual tour image displayed on Oculus GO
27