Abstract
Excavations on the northern slope of a high hill southeast of the Har Ḥoma neighborhood revealed a single-phased, sixth–seventh-century CE Byzantine coenobium monastery, and several quarries and agricultural installations. The monastery comprised a central courtyard surrounded by rooms, a chapel and a winepress. This monastery was small, probably inhabited by a community of about 20 monks. Most of the finds from the site––pottery, glass and coins––date to the Byzantine–Early Islamic periods, up to the eighth century CE. The complex resembles other contemporary monasteries located between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, the two holiest cities of Christianity.
Keywords
Christian, pilgrimage, hospitality, sacred centers, refectory, hermit, burial, hoard, crypt, water cistern
Recommended Citation
Zelinger, Yehiel
(2022)
"A Byzantine-Period Monastery at Har Ḥoma, between Jerusalem and Bethlehem (pp. 257–292),"
'Atiqot: Vol. 106, Article 20.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.70967/2948-040X.1885
Available at:
https://publications.iaa.org.il/atiqot/vol106/iss1/20
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