The Ataman Mausoleum and Roman Bridge near Daraa

Ataman is a village 4 km north of Daraa, on the old Damascus-Daraa road. Wadi al-Dhahab runs through the middle of it. The sources single out two ancient structures here: a large mausoleum topped by a square structure in the Corinthian order, and an old bridge. The mausoleum is described as the best-preserved ancient remain in the village. The exact location of these structures, their present state and whether they can be visited could not be confirmed; this page brings together the published descriptions.

Where it is

4 km north of Daraa. Al-Yadudah lies to the west, Tafas to the north-west, Da’el to the north, Khirbet Ghazaleh to the north-east, al-Ghariyah al-Gharbiyah to the east and al-Naimah to the south-east. The 2004 census counted 8929 people. Wadi al-Dhahab, which comes down from Jabal al-Arab and flows into the Yarmouk, divides the village into a northern and a southern part.

How the mausoleum is described

In the publication of Princeton University’s expeditions to Syria in 1904-1905 and 1909, Enno Littmann and Howard Crosby Butler do not treat Ataman as an ancient town. In their view it was most likely “a group of fine residences, or villas, with a common monumental tomb”. The mausoleum is a large stone building, and a square structure in the Corinthian order rises on top of it. Boulanger, writing in 1966, calls it the best-preserved ruin in the village. Just north of it are ruined buildings with fragments of columns and large window and door openings.

Mausoleum or temple

The Arabic Wikipedia describes the village’s remains differently. It mentions a basalt “Nabataean temple” of the 2nd century on a rise overlooking Wadi al-Dhahab, near the old mosque, with columns, inscriptions and a finely worked façade. Whether this temple is the same building as Butler’s mausoleum is unclear. No source was found that either links or separates the two, so both descriptions are given here side by side.

The Roman bridge

Both sources say there is an ancient bridge in the village. The Arabic source says it dates from the Roman period and has been repaired and rebuilt. When the work was done, and by whom, is not stated. Old tombs, wells, fragments of statues and inscribed stones are also recorded in the village.

The village’s past

In the Ottoman tax register of 1596, Ataman appears as an entirely Muslim village in the nahiya, or sub-district, of Butayna in the Hauran, with 29 households and 15 bachelors. In 1838 the American scholar Eli Smith listed it as a khirba, a ruined or deserted place. In the early 20th century people were living in part of the ancient ruins.

What not to miss

If you find the mausoleum on the spot, look first at its top. The square upper structure in the Corinthian order is the detail that sets this building apart from an ordinary village ruin in the sources.

Current state

No source from the last twelve months mentioning Ataman could be found. Whether the mausoleum and the bridge are standing and reachable today could not be confirmed. Nor does any published source give the exact location of the structures, which is why this page has no map. If you plan to go, ask in the village, and keep out of ruined buildings and empty ground.