Livius Picture Archive: Qasr Banat (Qasr Isawi)

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	Qasr Banat (Qasr Isawi) Unless otherwise indicated, pictures on this page © Marco Prins and Jona Lendering. Photos can be downloaded and used for non-commercial purposes, but you have to acknowledge Livius.
	Qasr Banat (or Qasr Isawi; satellite photo) is the modern name of an ancient fortified farm, built by the Romans, who called these buildings centenaria. They were built in the mid-third century, according to standard designs. The Qasr Banat farm therefore looks a lot like the one at Gheriat esh-Shergia.
	It is situated on a steep hill along the Wadi Nefud, close to a confluence.
	The interior.
	The valley of the Wadi Nefud. You can see the mausoleum and (to the left and in the background) two other centenaria. In Graeme Barker e.a., Farming the Desert. The UNESCO Libyan Valleys Archaeological Survey (1996), Qasr Banat is recorded as Nf37.
	This is the nearby mausoleum (Nf38), which consisted of two rooms.
	This is the lower room, where the people were buried...
	... and this is the upper room.
	The decoration of the roof
	and a capital, with a fish on it, a very common motif in this area. A satellite photo can be found here.	© Jona Lendering for Livius.Org, 2006 Revision: 25 September 2006

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