Two Umayyad Mosaic Floors from Qastal

In the Spring 2000, a mosaiced structure was located and excavated at Qastal, at a distance of some 400 m. to northwest of the well-known Umayyad qasr. The core unit of the partially exposed building is a large room opening in the middle of the western side into an apsed alcove with two flanking rooms paved with mosaics. The two square fields are decorated with interlaced scuta generating an octagonal compartment in the centre where a hunting scene is depicted, a lion attacking a bull, and a leopard tearing a gazelle. The two scenes are rendered realistically .