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Christian archaeology in Israel in recent years

Yoram Tsafrir

Citer ce document / Cite this document :

Tsafrir Yoram. Christian archaeology in Israel in recent years. In: Actes du XIe congrès international d'archéologie chrétienne.
Lyon, Vienne, Grenoble, Genève, Aoste, 21-28 septembre 1986. Rome : École Française de Rome, 1989. pp. 1737-1770.
(Publications de l'École française de Rome, 123);

https://www.persee.fr/doc/efr_0000-0000_1989_act_123_1_3562

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 YORAM TSAFRIR

CHRISTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY IN ISRAEL

IN RECENT YEARS

This report describes in a very general and abbreviated way the

major discoveries in the field of Christian archaeology in Israel in the
1980's*.
As in earlier decades1, archaeological activity has continued to be
very intensive during the last seven years. Most of the finds come
from the survey and excavation of churches, but there have also been
discoveries of Christian cometeries and other types of artefacts. This
report proceeds more or less from North to South, and describes newly
discovered sites as well as sites and monuments that have been known
from previous years, but were studied once more. The chronological
limits are from the fourth to the seventh century, somewhat after the
Arab conquest of Palestine.

In the central Galilee, M. Avi'am dedicated his efforts to

determining the border between the area that was occupied by Jews, in the east-

* The author owns thanks to the Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums and
to the excavators, for the permission to use these illustrations.
The photographs were taken by Zev Radovan, Ilan Sztulman, Avraham Hai and the
excavators; the reconstructions were made by Leen Ritmeyer.
Most excavations were conducted on behalf of the Israel Department of Antiquities
and Museums; several others were carried out on behalf of the Institute of Archaeology
of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Tel Aviv University, the Survey of Israel and
the Israel Exploration Society.
1 Y. Tsafrir, Ancient Churches in H. Shanks and B. Mazar (eds.\ Recent Archaeology in
the Land of Israel, Washington D.C. - Jerusalem, 1984, p. 97-107. For the full list of
churches in Israel see : A. Ovadiah, Corpus of Byzantine Churches in the Holy Land, Bonn,
1970; A. Ovadiah and C. G. de Silva, Supplementum to the Corpus of Churches in the Holy
Land, Levant, 13, 1981, p. 200-261 ; 14, 1982, p. 122-170; 16, 1984, p. 129-165. See also in
general : Y. Tsafrir, Eretz-Israel from the Destruction of the Second Temple to the Muslim
Conquest, II, Archaeology and Art, Jerusalem, 1984, esp. p. 221-449 (Hebrew).
1738 YORAM TSAFRIR

ern part of Galilee, and the Christian zone in the western Galilee.
Several Christian sites were identified, the most important of which is
Horvat Heshek (grid ref. 1757-2619), near Moshav Lapidot (fig. I)2.
Here a small church was found built above a cistern and a vaulted
burial chamber, which was attached to the cistern on the east. The
church is a small basilica (12 χ 9.50 m), in front of which there is an
atrium (9x5 m). Two elongated rooms were attached to the church
on the northern side. Three gates led from the atrium into the
basilica. On the stone lintel of the central gate three holes were noticed, in
which metal crosses, or other Christian symbols, were once fixed.
Above the aisles there were galleries, paved with mosaics. The church
too was beautifully decorated with mosaics. At the eastern end of the
nave there is a Greek inscription, naming Demetrius the deacon and

Fig. 1 - Horvat Heshek. Reliquary in the southern apse.

2 M. Avi'am Kh. Heshek, Excavations and Surveys in Israel (henceforth : ESI), 5, 1986,
p. 51-52.
 CHRISTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY IN ISRAEL 1739

builder, his son Georgius and the rest of his family, who pray to be
remembered by the Lord and by St. George. There are also traces of
the ambo and the main altar in the apse. The altar was situated above
a small sarcophagus (1.10 x 0.75 m) made of limestone. The southern
apse was paved with marble. In its centre was found another, smaller
reliquary, sunk into the floor and covered by a marble plaque. Nearby
another inscription was found, belonging to the same Demetrius, the
founder. Avi'am dates the church to the late fifth - early sixth
century. It was probably built by the people of a nearby village (located
in the neighbouring Horvat Mahoz), as a place to deposit some remains
of St. Georgius and perhaps of other martyrs.
At Kibbutz Lohamei ha-Getaot, 5 km north-east of Acco (Acre), an
underground tomb decorated with wall paintings had been found in
1971, but was published only recently by G. Foerster3. The tomb
consists of a small central chamber (2 χ 1.80 χ 1.90 m high) with loculi
and arcosolia on its sides. The central room is decorated with
paintings. On the East, on either side of the entrance, there are two palm
trees with bunches of dates. The main scene is located on the western
wall, facing the entrance : Daniel, in Parthian dress and Egyptian hat,
raises his hands as an orans (fig. 2). Daniel is flanked by two lions,
next to which there are candlesticks with burning candles. This
representation of Daniel, dated to the sixth century, is one of the lates
appearances of this figure. On the same wall there is also a cantharus,
flanked by a peacock and another bird, and out of which come vines
holding small birds. At the top there is a cross with X and
alpha-omega on its sides. Above the arcosolium in this wall there is a painting of
fishes and of the Cross on the hill of Golgotha. In the arcosolia there
are wreaths and various floral patterns; in the centre of the south wall
there is a pomegranate tree and, on the north wall, a cross with alpha-
omega is depicted.
The closest parallel to this depiction of Daniel is found in the
mosaic of the synagogue of Naaran, and perhaps in the synagogue of
Susiya, in Judaea. However, in terms of style, the best parallels are
found in the West, such as at Ravenna, although the artistic quality
here, in a countryside tomb in the Galilee, is of course inferior.

3 G. Foerster, A Painted Christian Tomb near Kibbutz Lohamei Ha Getdot, in

M. Yedaia (ed.), The Antiquities of the Western Galilee, Mate-Asher, 1986, p. 416-431
(Hebrew).
 1740 YORAM TSAFRIR

Fig. 2 - Lohamei ha-Getabt. Wall painting of Daniel in the lions den.

In Horvat 'Erav (Kh. ìrribin), north-east of Lohamei ha-Getaot,

and near Kibbutz Adamit, two churches were discovered ans surveyed
by Z. Ilan (fig. 3). The churches belonged to a Byzantine village. The
westernmost of the two was excavated4. This church is of basilical
plan, divided by two rows of columns into a nave and two aisles. In
the apse there is a synthronon. At the end of the southern aisle there is
another apse. The church was paved with mosaics, only a small part
of which remains, consisting of geometric and floral patterns. In front
of the main hall there are an atrium and narthex, with a side chapel
along it; this area has not yet been excavated.
These finds in the central and western Galilee follow many discov-

4 Z. Ilan, Horvat 'Erav, ESI, 1, 1982, p. 26-27; Idem, The Excavations of the western
Church at Horvat 'Erab Çlrribin), in Western Galilee (above, note 3), p. 503-515 (Hebrew).
 CHRISTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY IN ISRAEL 1741

eries of churches and monasteries in the area, such as those at Shavei

Zion, Nahariya, Shelomi, Sukhmata and others. They indicate
intensive occupation of the western Galilee and the regions of Tyre and Pto-
lemais (Acco) by Christian communities.

Fig. 3 - Horvat Erav. Ground plan (according to the survey) of the eastern church.
1742 YORAM TSAFRIR

The eastern Galilee and the western part of the Golan heights
were, on the other hand, occupied mostly by Jews. Only a few
Christian remains were discovered in these areas. The westermost Christian
site in the Golan heights is the monastery of Deir Qruh near Gamala,
which was excavated in 1982 by Z. Maoz5. The general plan of the
monastery is not yet clear, but the total dimensions of the complex are
25 χ 60 m. A chapel was found to the South-East, composed of a
prayer hall (8.50 χ 5.50 m) and narthex (2.50 χ 5.50 m). At the eastern
end there are three rectangular rooms, the central one of which
(without a apse) included the bema. Cavities for the legs of the altar were
discovered in the plaster floor. Two steps, paved by basalt flagstones,
connected the hall with the bema. An inscription was found on one of
the lintels, including an appeal to the Lord and holy Georgius.
Another monastery was found in Ramthania in the eastern Golan
(grid ref. 2256-2696) by Claudine M. Dauphin6. Here there was a
chapel, with an inscription dedicating the site as a martyrium of John the
Baptist. Cl. Dauphin suggests that the site was a monastery, perhaps a
centre of the Christianized Arab Ghassanid tribes, who lived in this
area during the sixth-seventy centuries.
In Dor, on the sea coast north of Caesarea, Claudine M. Dauphin
renewed the exploration of a large basilica (fig. 4)7. The first
excavation of the site had been done by I. Leibowitz in 1952. The basilica is
only partially preserved, but its ground plan is generally clear. Its
dimensions are 25 χ 15.50 m; the width of the nave is 7 m. The church
was adorned with mosaic floors. Outside the nave there were an
atrium, baptistery and other rooms. It seems that the complex served
as the episcopal centre of the important city of Dor, on the border of
Palestine and Phoenicia.
At the eastern end of the southern aisle, a tomb was found covered
by a flagstone with a hole 16-18 cm in diameter; from the hole came a
pipe made of pottery for pouring oil into the tomb. The oil was
collected in a nearby basin and was used for blessing or cure of illness.
In 1952 Leibowitz had found a marble column with a deeply incised

5 Z. Maoz, Deir Qrukh, ESI, 2, 1983, p. 23-25.

6 C. M. Dauphin, Golan Survey, Israel Exploration Journal (henceforth : IEJ), 34, 1984,
p. 268.
7Eadem, Dor, IEJ, 29, 1979, p. 235-236; 31, 1981, p. 117-119.
 CHRISTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY IN ISRAEL 1743

IO

Fig. 4 - Dor. Ground plan of the basilica.

cross, in which a stone relic had been fixed, and above which was the
inscription : Του άγίον Γολγοθά λίθος.
At HoRVAT ZiKHRiN (grid ref. 1466-1634), on the border between
Samaria and the coastal plain, M. Fischer excavated the remains of a
Byzantine village8. In the middle of the village there was a basilical
church (28 χ 15.30 m), with an atrium and narthex. Although the state
of preservation is bad, it is clear that the church was built with local
limestone and roofed with wooden beams and ceramic tiles. The floor
was paved with mosaics. A dedicatory inscription was found, of which

8 M. Fischer, Kh. Zikhrin, IEJ, 35, 1985, p. 194-198; Idem, Excavations at Horvat Zikh-
rin, Qadmoniot, 71-72, 1985, p. 112-121 (Hebrew).
1744 YORAMTSAFRIR

only the name of one of the donors - a lady called Anastasia - can be
clearly read. Remains of the marble chancel screen were also found,
as well as the lower part of a baptismal font, made of cement.
Another building (35 χ 25 m), which was located at the highest point of the
settlement, is identified by Fisher as a monastery (cf. the report Fischer
infra).
At Kh. el Beyudat, North of Jericho (grid ref. 1945-1522) - perhaps
ancient Archelais - H. Hizmi partially excavated a Byzantine church9.
The church has a basilical plan (23 χ 16 m) with a nave (9 m wide) and
two aisles. The walls (0.80 m wide) were preserved to a height of
1.50 m. The chancel screen panels were decorated with crosses. The
church was adorned with coloured mosaics of geometric pattern. It
was built during the sixth century and was in use until the early
seventh century.
Three inscriptions were found in the mosaic floor, in connexion
with various stages of alteration and renovation of the building : the
first mentions a Bishop Porphyrius and includes a blessing upon the
benefactors of the church; the second dates a renovation of the
mosaics under the Emperor Justin II in 570; the third mentions a priest,
by whose efforts this work was done.
Jerusalem had its great days of discovery in the 1970's. Extensive
excavations took place and very important discoveries were made - like
those of Corbo, Coüasnon, Economopoulos and Broshi in the complex
of the Holy Sepulchre, the discovery of Christian remains near the
southern wall of the Temple Mount by Mazar, and the discovery of the
Nea church in the Jewish quarter by Avigad. In comparison, the
achievements of the 1980's are less impressive. The most important
find was that of another apse of the Nea church, near the Turkish wall,
in the southern fringes of the Jewish quarter (fig. 5)10.
South-East of the Old City of Jerusalem, on the hill of the biblical
Ketef-Hinnom, G. Barkai uncovered remains of a large church
(45 χ 25 m)11. The wall of this church had been dismantled in later
periods, but fragment sof the floor, paved in mosaic and coloured seg-

9 H. Hizmi, Kh. el Beyudat, Hedashot Archeologiot , 89, 1987, p. 35 (Hebrew).

10 N. Avigad, Discovering Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 1983, p. 229-246; Idem, ESI, 1, 1982,
p. 56.
11 G. Barkay, Excavations on the Slopes of Hinnom Valley, Jerusalem, Qadmoniot, 68,
1984, p. 94-108 (esp. p. 96-97 : Hebrew).
 CHRISTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY IN ISRAEL 1745

1 I Ih.· \ea Chun h

2 \ aulirti iiMrrn

I
<l Supporunj; wall
■41 I int· oi ihr Cani..
>l Bwjniine sireet
<>l Crusader building
"I Cru^jiier iliv v»jll
H| Awuhid lower
l»l Turkixh cn\ »all
KM Huri Kibru

Fig. 5 - Jerusalem. Ground plan of the complex of the "Nea" church and its
surroundings.

ments of marble (opus secale), as well as painted plaster from the

walls, were found either in situ or scattered around the site. An
underground vaulted room was also excavated, which was perhaps a crypt.
Among the smal finds, the most significant is a fourth century coin,
minted in Axum, which may be evidence for pilgrimage from the
remote kingdom of Ethiopia to Jerusalem. Barkai identifies the
building with the church and monastery of St. Georgius, mentioned in the
report of the sack of Jerusalem by the Persians in 614 as being "outside
David's tower".
1746 YORAMTSAFRIR

The most impressive advance in the 1980's took place in the field
of research of Judaean desert monasticism. The rough terrain,
extending east and south-eat of Jerusalem, was known by the monks as the
"Desert of Jerusalem". Surveys and excavations have almost doubled
the number of known monastic sites. More information has also been
collected concerning the fourth-seventh centuries laurae and coeno-
bia12. It was also possible to re-examine the identification of several
major monasteries that had been mentioned by the ancient writers,
especially by Cyril of Scythopolis. Most prominent among the new
identifications is the location of the "Nea Laura" at Kh. bir-e-Wa'ar,
south of Teko'a13.
Of the newly surveyed or excavated monasteries we will report
only a few. In the monastery of Halat el Danabiyeh at Wadi Makukh,
North-East of Jerusalem, H. Goldfuss partially excavated a cave
church, cut into the steep rocky slope 14. R. Rubin made several probes
in the laura of Firminus at Nahal Mikhmas (Wadi Zuweinit)15. The
cave-cells and ground plan of the laura of Pharan, North-East of
Jerusalem, were surveyed by J. Patrich 16, and other areas by U. Dinur and
Nurit Feig17. Y. Hirschfeld examined the "Old Laura" of Chariton,
south of Teko'a, and discovered the "Hanging cave", that is, the small
hermitage of the saint, cut into the steep cliff (fig. 6) 18. J. Patrich
devoted much effort to surveying the "Great Laura" of Sabas in the
Kidron valley, and showed clearly that the existing monastery of Mar
Saba occupies only a minor part of the ancient monastery. The
ancient hermitages were cut into the cliffs; they were relatively large,

12 See recently, Y. Hirschfeld, The Judaean Desert Monasteries in the Byzantine Period
- Their Development and Internal Organization in the Light of Archaeological Research
(Ph. D. Thesis, unpublished), Jerusalem, 1987 (Hebrew).
13 Idem, The Archaeological Survey of Israel, Map of Herodium (108-2), 17-11,
Jerusalem, 1987, p. 13, 99-105 (Hebrew).
14 H. Goldfuss, Wadi el-Makkuk, ESI, 3, 1984, p. 106.
15 R. Rubin, The "Laura " Monasteries in the Judean Desert During the Byzantine
Period, Cathedra, 23, 1982, p. 25-46 (Hebrew); M. Halloun and R.Rubin, Palestinian Syriac
Inscription from 'En Sueinit, Liber Annuus, 31, 1981, p. 291-298.
16 J. Patrich, Desert Secret Passages and Caves, ESI, 3, 1984, p. 61-62.
17 U. Dinur and N. Feig, QaVat Musa, Hadashot Archeologiot , 88, 1986, p. 17-18.
18 Y. Hirschfeld (above, note 13), p. 12, 36-48.
 CHRISTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY IN ISRAEL 1747

Fig. 6 - Teko'a. The "Hanging cave" of St. Chariton - reconstruction of the three steps
the entrance (below), the chapel (centre), the cell (top).
1748 YORAM TSAFRIR

and many of them were paved with mosaics (fig. 7-8) 19. In addition,
Patrich examined a number of other foundations of St. Sabas and his
disciples.
Aside from these, and many other remains that could not be
mentioned here, there were three major excavations. At Kh. el-Kilieh,
near Rimonim, in the northern part of the Judaean desert, Y. Magen
excavated a monastic complex surrounded by walls20. Cells and caves
were scattered around the monastery, and in the middle there was a
small church, beneath whose floor was a tomb, containing remains
from the byzantine period.
In Ma'aleh Adummim (Kh. el-Murassas), East of Jerusalem, Magen
and H. Hizmi uncoverd the large coenobium of Martyrius21. The
monastery has a quadrangular shape. Its area is about 10 dunams (figs.
9-12). In the North-East another wing was attached to the monastery,
which served as a hostel for pilgrims. Martyrius, the founder, was one
of St. Euthymius' monks. Later, in 478, he became the Patriarch of
Jerusalem. According to Cyril of Scythopolis, he lived in this place as
a hermit in a cave. The increased development of the complex took
place under his successor in the abbacy, Paulus, at the end of the fifth
to the early sixth century, more building activity occurred in the mid
sixth century. The monastery was surrounded by a wall. The main
entrance was in the east wing, where the church was also located,
together with a chapel and the adjacent entrance hall, where Paulus
was buried. The church (inner dimensions 25.50 χ 6.60 m) was paved
with mosaics, as was the chapel. In the northern wing a large
refectory (26.50 χ 12 m) was uncovered, paved with richly decorated mosaics
(fig. 12). An inscription mentions Genesius, priest and archimandrite,
under whom the work was done, in the first year of the indiction.
There is no precise dating, but the excavator prefers the first year of
the indiction beginning in 552-3 C.E.
Near the refectory there was a kitchen, where a large quantity of
pottery and bronze dishes were found. Near the refectory, in the same

19 J. Patrich, Survey of Mar-Saba Map, Hadashot Archeologiot , 82, 1983, p. 52-53

(Hebrew); Idem, Private Chapels and Hermitages of the Laura of Mar-Saba, in Y. Tsafrir (ed.),
Ancient Churches Revealed (in press).
20 Y. Magen, oral communication.
21 Y. Magen and H. Hizmi, The Monastery of St. Martyrius at Martyrius at Mdaleh
Adummim, Qadmoniot, 71-72, 1985, p. 62-92 (Hebrew); Iidem, in Ancient Churches
Revealed (above, note 19).
 CHRISTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY IN ISRAEL

Fig. 7 - The " Great Laura " of St. Sabas. A cell attributed to St. Xenophon.

Fig. 8 - The "Great Laura". A mosaic floor in a cell n° 27.

Fig. 9 - Maaleh Adummim. Aerial view of Martyrius' monastery. In the lower right corner
kitchen. Below left the pilgrims' hostel.
CHRISTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY IN ISRAEL 1751

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1752 YORAM TSAFRIR

Fig. 11 - Maaleh Adummim

the chapel
: the southern
of the "Three
wing ofPriests".
the monastery. In the centre,
 CHRISTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY IN ISRAEL 1753

Fig. 12 - Ma'aleh Adummim. The refectorium.

wing, there was a cave, above which is a burial inscription mentioning

three priests. The excavators assume that this cave had originally been
the hermitage of the founder, Martyrius himself. The stables of the
monastery were located in the north-eastern wing; in the west, the bath
house and in the south, chapels and cells. As mentioned above, a
separated hostel (xenodochium) for pilgrims was attached in the North-
East, including dormitories, chapel and stables.
According to the stratigraphie evidence, the monastery was
severely damaged in 614, at the time of the Persian conquest of Palestine.
Some of its stones, and other building materials, were taken away.
Still, the collection of architecture, epigraphy, and daily vessels, is one
of the richest ever found in a Byzantine monastery in Israel.
The monastery of Kh. ed-Deir, also a coenobium, is located in the
deeper desert, between Jerusalem and En Gedi. In contrast to
Martyrius'
monastery, which is situated on a flat hill, Kh. ed-Deir is located
1754 YORAM TSAFRIR

in a small ravine, a branch of the larger gorge of Nahal Arugot (grid

ref. 1739-1038). The area was dug by Y. Hirschfeld and Rivka Birger
(fig. 13)22. At the centre is the church, built in a cave aside the river
bed. Its length is 20 m and its width is 14 m. The church was paved
with mosaics. At the eastern end of the mosaic carpet there is an
inscription from the Septuagint version of Psalms 105, 4-5. Adjacent to
the church is the baptistery, where the monks baptized the many
Saracens from the desert who converted to Christianity. At the side of
the church a chapel was built, in the apse of which a cavity was found
for the reliquary. Nearby, along the steep rocky wall, small dwelling
caves were excavated. In front of one there was an inscription dealing
with the resurrection of the Last Day (Corinth. 15, 52-53). The excava-

Fig. 13 - The monastery of Ed-Deir in Nahal Arugot - reconstruction. N° 5 : Refectorium

and kitchen ; nos 8-9 : Monks' cells ; the cave-church is located in the cliff below the tower
n°10.

22 Y. Hirschfeld and R. Birger, Hirbet ed-Deir : A Byzantine Monastery in the Judaean

Desert, Israel - Land an Nature, 10, 1985, p. 110-114.
 CHRISTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY IN ISRAEL 1755

tors suggest that this was the cell of the as yet unidentified founder of
the monastery, which later on became his tomb. Further to the West
were the refectory and the kitchen. Only the lower storey of this
complex survived (27 χ 6.70 m), in which the kitchen, the bakery, the oil
press and the stores were found; the dining hall itself was located on
the upper floor. Most of the dwelling cells were situated in the upper
part of the hill, above the ravine, and have not yet been excavated.
The excavations also traced the water collection system and a smalli
kitchen-garden.
E. Netzer, with Rivka Birger and Ayala Feller, excavated two small
chapels (fig. 14-17) below the cone-shaped hill of Herodion, the fortress
and tomb of Herod on the margins of the Judaean desert, South-East
of Bethlehem23. These join the chapel found by Corbo on the summit
of the fortress in the early 1960's, and another chapel dug by Netzer,
also in lower Herodion (the northern church). One of the two new
chapels (the central church, fig. 14-15) is built near the "Monumental
building", which may be, according to the excavators' hypothesis, the
tomb of king Herod himself. The dimensions of this church are 10.20
χ 13.80 m. It was paved with mosaics of geometric pattern. The apse
was flanked by two side rooms, the southern of which was a
baptistery. The font was made of stone, a rounded drum of 1.10 m diameter,
into which the quadrefoil basin was hewn.
The eastern church (fig. 16-17) was located above the remains of
the Herodian palace of lower Herodion, not far from the central
church. This church (14 χ 8.30 m) was also paved with mosaics,
mostly carpets of vine scrolls with birds and animals. Several of them were
damaged, probably by iconoclasts. Attached to the church on the
South there were two rooms, one of which served as a baptistery. An
inscription, only partially preserved, included a blessing upon the
donors.
In the hilly country of the Shephelah, in the region of Beit Govrin
(Eleutheropolis), West of Jerusalem, there is a large concentration of
Christian remains. This region was among the most densely populated
in Palestine, both by Christians and Jews. The most important finds
are three churches that were recently excavated.

23 E. Netzer, R. Birger and A. Feller, The Churches of Herodium, Qadmoniot, 77-78,

1987, p. 32-44 (Hebrew); Idem, in Ancient Churches Revealed (above, note 19).
1756 YORAM TSAFRIR

Fig. 14 - Herodion, the central church. Ground plan and reconstructions.

 CHRISTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY IN ISRAEL 1757

Fig. 1 5 - Herodion, the central church. General view to the East.

1758 YORAM TSAFRIR

Fig. 16 - Herodion, the eastern church. Ground plan.

Near ancient Maresha, East of Eleutheropolis, A. Kloner uncovered

a church dedicated, according to an inscription, to the archangel
Michael (fig. 18)24. The church is basilical in plan; its preservation is
relatively poor, as its walls had been dismantled in later periods. The
hall is almost square (9.90 χ 8.80 m); it was paved with mosaics of
geometric design that remained intact, except for the eastern end. The
pottery that was collected at the site is typical for the sixth century.
The floor was covered with ashes, perhaps the result of a fire that
occurred in the early seventh century.
In Horvat Beit Loya (Kh. Lehi), ca. 5 km. South-East of
Eleutheropolis, J. Patrich and Y. Tsafrir uncovered the remains of a church and

24 A. Kloner, Maresha, Hadashot Archeologiot , 88, 1986, p. 27 (Hebrew); Idem, in

Ancient Churches Revealed (above, note 19).
 CHRISTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY IN ISRAEL 1759

Fig. 17 - Herodion, the eastern church. Detail of the mosaic.

agricultural installations - perhaps part of a monastery (fig. 19-2 1)25.

The basilical church (fig. 19) is dated, according to its style and pottery,
to about 500 C.E., and it functioned until the eighth century. Its
dimensions are ca. 20 χ 13 m. West of the main hall there was a nar-
thex (3.60 m wide) and an atrium (ca. 20 χ 30 m). The church is
paved with mosaics of very good quality. They consist in carpets of
medallions and of vine scrolls in the nave, and geometric pattern in the
aisles. In the medallions were inserted birds and animals, and various
baskets of fruit. In the centre of the aisles there were two larger
roundels : one contained a figure of a fisherman in a boat, and the other
shows two fishermen holding their nets. Almost every single figure,

25 J. Patrich and Y. Tsafrir, A Byzantine Church and Agricultural Installation at Horvat

beh Loya, Qadmoniot, 71-72, 1985, p. 106-112 (Hebrew); Idem, in Ancient Churches
Revealed (above, note 19).
1760 YORAM TSAFRIR

Fig. 18 - Maresha. The mosaic pavement of the church in process of restoration.

CHRISTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY IN ISRAEL 1761

m
où
fi
ΟΟ

ο
Sfilila, xM*^^^^
Fig. 20 - Horvat Beit Loya. Detail of the mosaic in the nave. The bird and fishes (?) in the
iconoclasm in the eight century.
 CHRISTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY IN ISRAEL 1763

human, animal or bird, was mutilated by iconoclasts, but the floor was
repaired immediately using the same tesserae, thus it is not difficult to
identify the original figures (fig. 20). The iconoclastic activity may be
connected with the edict of the Caliph Yezid II in 721 C.E. or later in
the mid 8th. century. Dedicatory inscriptions say that the church was
donated by two people, Azizos and Kyrikos. The narthex was also
paved with mosaics, only the borders of which survived. They consist
of a row of various animals within vine scrolls, and several human
figures, perhaps a scene of vintage. Near the treshold of the main
entrance to the narthex there are two lambs in heraldic position,
possibly a symbol of the Agnus Dei.
The side chapel (fig. 21) included a mosaic of a very delicate
geometric pattern and a dedicatory inscription by a certain Epanagia, in
memory of Aetios. The baptistery was located to the South-West ; only
the botton of the font survived, including a lead drainage pipe. On the
mosaic floor there is an inscription: "The light of the righteous shall
rejoice" {Proverbs 3:9). Near the church there were a burial cave, a
wine press and an olive press.
Of the utmost importance is the discovery of a subterraneam
chapel, that had been a site of pilgrimage, at Kh. Katzra (grid ref. 143 1 -
1053), South-East of Moshav Amatzia and Horvat Beit Loya. The site
was excavated by A. Kloner (fig. 22) 26. The chapel originated as a
burial cave in the Second Temple period. During the Byzantine period
it was converted into a cult place, several partition walls were
removed, and a front courtyard was added (18.50 χ 17.80 m). Many
graffiti were scratched on the walls of the hewn chapel, most of them
in Greek, some in Arabic and one in Syriac. Several were adrassed to
Hagia Salome27. Les Di Segni, who studied the Greek inscriptions,
suggests that St. Salome is none other than Salome the midwife, who is
mentioned in apocryphal literature as well as in the literature and art
of the Byzantine period. According to the tradition, Salome was late to
arrive at the Nativity and at first denied Mary's virginity. L. Di Segni
suggests that the epitaph of a certain Salome (a very common name in
the Second Temple period) was found by Christians in the Byzantine
period in this cave, among Jewish burials of the Second Temple period,

26 A. Kloner, Horvat Qasra, ESI, 1, 1982, p. 96.

27 Lea Di Segni, Unknown Cult : The Chapel of St. Salome near Eleutheropolis, Acts of
the Annual Archaeological Conference of Israel, Tel Aviv, 1986, p. 16 (Hebrew).
1764 YORAM TSAFRIR

Fig. 21 - Horvat Beit Loya. The northern chapel dedicated by Epanagia to the memory
of Aetius.
 CHRISTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY IN ISRAEL 1765

Fig. 22 - Horvat Katzra. A Burial cave of the Second Temple period, converted into a
memorial chapel of Hagia Salome.

and the deceased was then identified with Salome the midwife. Thus
the site became one of the Byzantine loca sancta of the region, together
with the miraculously discovered tombs of the prophets Zechariah and
Micha, Stephanus the Protomartyr and others.
In 1980 A. Negev returned to his excavation at Halutza (ancient
Elusa), the capital of the Negev in the province of Palaestina Tertia28.
He uncovered the eastern part of the basilical church (fig. 23). The
dimensions of the church are 39.45 χ 29.60 m. This basilica is larger
than any other church known in the Negev, and it undoubtedly served
as the cathedral of the western part of Palaestina Tertia. According to
Jerome, it was St. Hilarion who firstly planned a church in Elusa. The
hall is divided into a nave and two aisles by two rows of marble

28 A. Negev, Excavations at Elusa 1980, Qadmoniot, 55-56, 1981, p. 122-128 (Hebrew)·

Idem, Elusa 1980, Revue Biblique, 88, 1981, p. 587-591.
1766 YORAM TSAFRIR

Ο Ο Ο Ο Ο Ο • · m

ο •

ο •

ο ο

ο ο

0 0

ο ο

ο ο

ο ο ο ο ο ο ο ·
1

Fig. 23 - Halutza (Elusa). Ground plan of the cathedral.

 CHRISTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY IN ISRAEL 1767

columns. The apses were built of limestone and revetted with marble;
the pavement was marble as well. The upper part of the walls had
probably been decorated with mosaics. At the centre of the bema
there was a very large altar (2 χ 2.60 m) and behind it a very large
throne for the archibischop, with seven steps.
A. Negev recognized two phases in the building of the church. In
the earlier, during the fourth century, the apse had been flanked by
two square side rooms. Later, in the sixth century, side apses were
inserted into the square side rooms, making the church triapsidal.
According to Negev, the reason for the creation of the triapsidal type
was to facilitate the exhibition of relics to crowded gorups of pilgrims
and worshippers29.
The same hypothesis was tested in a trial excavation at the
neighbouring city of Shivta (Sobata) by Negev and S. Margalit 30. The
churches of Shivta were excavated in the 1930's by the Colt expedition,
but the excavation ha snot been properly published. New research
was done by Renate Rosenthal Heginbottom on the triapsidal churches
of Shivta31. Negev and Margalit demonstrated that the same stages of
building that were recognized at Halutza also took place in Shivta.
First, in the fourth century, square side rooms were built on either side
of the main apse, but later, in the sixth century, semi-circular apses
were inserted into these rooms, making the church triapsidal.
At Rehovot-in-the-Negev, South-West of Halutza, Y. Tsafrir and
K. G. Holum continued the excavation of the north and central
churches32, two out of the four known at the site. The excavations at
Rehovot-in-the-Negev started in the 1970's. In 1986 more of the atrium
of the fifth-century northern church was uncovered. The most
important find was the discovery of an Arabic-Cufic inscription mentioning
Amr-ibn-el-Az, the famous Arab commander, who led the Arab army
into the southern regions of Palestine in the 630's. The inscription can-

29 A. Negev, The Churche sof the Central Negev, An Architectural Survey, Revue
Biblique, 81, 1974, p. 416-421.
30 A. Negev and S. Margalit, Shivta, IEJ, 36, 1986, p. 110-111.
31 R. Rosenthal-Heginbottom, Die Kirchen von Sobata und Dreiapsidenkirchen des
Nähen Ostens, Wiesbaden, 1982.
32 Y. Tsafrir and K. C. Holum, Rehovot-in-the-Negev, 1986, IEJ (in press); for the
northern church, see Y. Tsafrir, Excavations at Rehovot-in-the-Negev , Vol. I, The Northern
Church. (Qedem, 25), Jerusalem, 1988.
1768 YORAM TSAFRIR

Fig. 24 - Rehovot-in-the-Negev. The apse and bema of the central church, looking
North. Note the supporting arch of the southern side room.

not be later than 700 C.E., thus it shows that the church had been
deserted by the Christians by the end of the seventh century. The
richly decorated church with its crypt fell into the hands of nomad
squatters who stole its wooden beams and marbles, and settled in the rooms
and chapels around the main hall.
A lot of work was dedicated to the excavation of the central church
(fig. 24-25). This was probably th earliest and most venerated church
of the town. Its erection in the later part of the fourth century marked
the process of Christianization of the formerly Nabataean town. The
dimensions an plan of the early church on this site aare not yet known.
A second, larger church was built above the early church in 550/1 C.E.,
as shown by an inscription incised on the marble floor. The external
width of the second church is 16 m ; its length is not yet clear. An
elongated chapel was attached to the main church on the South. The
church is situated on the slopes of the hill, thus it is higher than most
 CHRISTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY IN ISRAEL 1769

Fig. 25 - Rehovot-in-the-Negev. A pilaster capital made of limestone from the central

church, with the alpha-omega sign.

of the town. The apse (5.50 m in diameter) was adorned with a syn-
thronon. Cavities for the legs of the altar were found in the bema and
beyond them the cavities for the legs of the ciborium. This is the first
time that the existence of a ciborium was proven in the Negev,
although it had been suggested in several other sites of the region. The
church was rich with architectural elements made of limestone and
marble, some decorated with Christian symbols.
North of the town was the cemetery, in which several tombs were
excavated. Here important information was collected concerning the
population and the origin of the Christian citizens of the town, as well
as about the burial customs. A cist tomb was dug into the chalky
bedrock, on a West-East axis. The deceased were laid in the cist with
their heads to the West and their eyes directed eastward. The
tombstones were made of limestone plates, cut into the shape of human
busts. Instead of the outline of the face a cross was cut, symbolizing
the spirit of the deceased. On several occasions there was an inscrip-
1770 YORAMTSAFRIR

tion that gave the name of the deceased and sometimes the date of
burial.
This report is only a summary of the most significant discoveries
in the field of Christian archaeology in Israel during the last seven
years. There are, of course, numerous other finds that have not been
mentionded here, both in the realm of monumental architecture and
art, and in that of daily life. As a matter of fact, every discovery from
the Byzantine period is directly or indirectly connected with Christian
Archaeology. The investigation of Byzantine town planning shows the
central place of the church in city life; by dating the abandonment of
Roman theatres and amphitheatres, we learn the date of the victory of
Christianity over Roman Culture. Even research into synagogues
reveals the continuing dialogue of Jewish art and architecture with that
of the Christians33. However, by extending the report into these wide
areas, we should have changed our summary to a comprehensive
chapter of the whole Byzantine period, which would have been far beyond
our original purpose.

Yoram Tsafrir

33 See recently Y. Tsafrir, The Byzantine Setting and the Influence on Ancient
Synagogues in L. I. Levine, The Synagogue in Late Antiquity, Philadelphia, 1987, p. 145-157.