The Great courtyard is situated on the centre of the sanctuary. The porticoes of the Great courtyard were erected in September 67 CE according to the inscriptions found during the excavation. Few columns of the C1 portico were rebuilt (anastylosis) during the Swiss archaeological mission in 1966.
The so-called Rhodian courtyard on the north-eastern part of the sanctuary was probably constructed at the same time as the peribolos, around 20 CE. However, the Rhodian peristyle, from which this courtyard takes its name, should be dated to the beginning of the 2nd century CE according to the style of the capitals (COLLART P., VICARI J., Le sanctuaire de Baalshamin à Palmyre, vol. I, Topographie et architecture, Texte, Institut suisse de Rome, 1970).
The Southern courtyard, constituted of four porticoes, is located next to the temple. Some inscriptions date the porticoes around the middle of the 2nd century CE though the courtyard itself seems to be older.
A banquet room was situated north of the temple. The links between the door of this room and the Great courtyard suggest that both structures were built simultaneously around 67 CE (COLLART P., VICARI J., Le sanctuaire de Baalshamin à Palmyre, vol. I, Topographie et architecture, Texte, Institut suisse de Rome, 1970).
Traces of post-roman buildings (Buildings A, B and C) were found within the Great and the Rhodian courtyard. The three buildings seem to have been constructed before the 6th century CE and refurbished in the early Islamic Period. Indeed, after the sanctuary and the cult were abandoned, a residential zone was created. Those buildings were multifunctional and suggest the presence of living spaces and commercial activities (INTAGLIATA E. E., "The Post-Roman Occupation of the Northern Courtyard of the Sanctuary of Baalshamin in Palmyra", ZOrA 9, 2016).
