Roman Oil Lamp

Karak, Jordan

A small museum displays various objects found in the vicinity, including this bronze Roman oil lamp. Usually described as a duck, the shape of the beak and length of the neck seem more like a swan. Two small children, one on either side, are folded within the bird's wing. Of each child, only the head and one arm are visible. The lamp depicts Castor and Pollux (or perhaps, Helen and Pollux), whose father, Zeus, took the form of a swan to impregnate their mother Leda.

Oval Plaza, Jerash

The colonnaded plaza of Jerash was built during the reign of Hadrian, who visited the city in 129 AD. Located near the south end of the site, it connects the temple of Zeus to the Cardo, the city's grand north-south avenue.

The splendid plaza is seen here from the west, in the vicinity of the South Theatre; the beginning of the Cardo, barely visible in the distance, extends out to the left of the photograph.