Abstract
Following the construction of the Security Fence in the summer of 2003, the site east of Naḥal Qidron was badly damaged. Subsequent salvage excavations at the site revealed a monastery (c. 1.5 dunams) active in the sixth and seventh centuries CE. The monastery was built as a closed rectangle, oriented northwest–southeast, delimited by sturdy walls. Along the walls were rooms that served various industrial activities: an olive press, stables and a flour mill. A church measuring 9 × 20 m was built in the northern part of the monastery, in the center of which were the remains of a mosaic floor depicting, inter alia, a deer and an octopus. South of the church was a courtyard from which three openings led into underground burial caves. Also uncovered was a rock-hewn stairway leading out of the monastery complex to an additional burial chamber with eight cells arranged in two parallel rows and separated by a corridor. This complex was one of a chain of monasteries surrounding Jerusalem during the Byzantine period. As of yet, we cannot offer a definite historical identification for the monastery; however, a few suggestions are proposed.
Recommended Citation
Zelinger, Yehiel and Barbé, Hervé
(2022)
"دير بيزنطي في وادي قدرون/ وادي النار، القدس / A Byzantine Monastery at Naḥal Qidron, Jerusalem,"
Cornerstone: Journal of Archaeological Sites (حجر الزاوية): Vol. 10, Article 41.
Available at:
https://publications.iaa.org.il/cornerstone/vol10/iss1/41
