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recently. A deep canyon of Wadi Rashm, covered with low vegetation, appeared
in front. The steep cliffs of the hill were covered with greenery from the river
valley at the bottom to the top, although the last fifty meters of the cliffs are
bare. After a narrow path barely one meter wide and about 50 meters long,
which wraps around a prominent rock above the canyon several hundred meters
deep, there is a cave that was once used for housing and sheltering livestock.
The cave is about 20 meters long and about 10 meters deep, with the height of
the opening facing the canyon being about 6 meters; this opening slowly
narrows towards the side edges of the cave. The floor of the cave is level. In
one place, a deeper pit was dug, which is additionally covered by a calotte of
the roof structure.
In front of the cave, there is a shallow plateau, followed by the slopes of
the canyon. The plateau in front of the cave has a slight fence made of existing
and subsequently filled stone material. The cave was used for housing, as
evidenced by traces of smoke on the ceiling, as well as for sheltering livestock.
At the opposite end of the cave entrance, there is a narrowing that ends at a
vertical rock, about 20 meters from the edge of the cave.
The cave was adapted for family life by building a stone wall along its
entire length towards the canyon, about 120 centimetres high. Parts of the wall
have been preserved, measuring 120 cm high on the upper side and 150 cm on
the lower side, about 60 centimetres wide at the top and about 120 centimetres
at the bottom. The wall is irregularly shaped, built of unhewn dry stone directly
on the cave floor.
The stone wall has no foundation, and it was not necessary to dig because
the cave floor is made of solid stone material, so the load-bearing surface is
immediately on the surface. The stone wall extends irregularly along the entire
length of the cave, while the entrance to the room thus formed is on the side of
the cave facing the access path. The room thus formed is about 10 meters long,
3 to 6 meters wide, and 2.5 to 3 meters high on the lowest side, while the side
facing the canyon gradually opens up to a height of about 6 meters.
In order to protect themselves from the weather, unprocessed columns,
cut in the surrounding area, were placed towards the canyon, set back from
the stone wall by 100 to 150 cm, resting on the ground without being buried.
These columns, with a diameter of about 15 to 20 centimetres, support central
wooden beams. In this way, a horizontal beam was formed on which vertical
inclined wooden supports rested, touching the stone wall at one end and the
horizontal beam at the other. Small material was placed over the primary roof
structure, which acted as rafters, and hay was placed over it.
To form the entrance to the central room, the wall was interrupted by a
width of about 1.20 meters. Beyond the door, it continues for a length of about
2 meters until it reaches the ceiling of the cave. The stone wall and wooden
superstructure thus completely enclose the room, protecting it from the weather.
The access path toward the canyon is paved with piled stones, forming a kind
of protective fence. The ceiling of the cave extends far over the stone wall and
the narrow path, providing secure protection from the elements.