Abstract

The finds of architectural decoration from the exacavation of the Umayyad palace Khirbat al-Minya near Tiberias in the 1930ies remained unpublished and are the subject of a forthcoming study by the author. This article deals with further questions related to the ornament and decorative programme of the rich body of marble champlevé friezes in the finds. It demonstrates, firstly, that material with Christian crosses was adapted to Umayyad re-use by reworking crosses and adding new panels with the same scheme and richer ornament. Other types of ornamented friezes may be entirely Umayyad. Evidence of wall incrustation in the three-nave palatial hall suggests that marble relief friezes formed part of its decoration. Secondly, in the palatial context, the relation of apparently mere decorative ornament to royal motifs is discussed. While a frieze of triangles appears to be the perfect example of an abstract ornament, merlons and palace facades based on a design of triangles offer an iconic analogy. A frieze with an acanthus-fruit-scroll allows the hypothe-sis that such marble friezes constituted an element of imperial style in Umayyad architecture, to expand to the sphere of palaces.