More than forty “Proto-aeolic capitals” have been found at 12 sites in Israel, Jordan, Syria, and the Palestinian Authority. This paper explains how they came to be regarded as structural “capitals”. It then examines the meaning behind the volute motif and goes on to challenge their accepted architectural placement. It will be shown that the “Proto-aeolic capitals” or rather the Stone Volute Motifs did not have a uniform function and that some of them were located in a cultic context.
(The lecture will be in English)