•  
  •  
 

Abstract

Salvage excavations at Ḥorbat Midras (Khirbat Darousia), located within the ‘Adulam Caves Park, in the center of the Judean Shephelah, uncovered seven building phases, revealing evidence of a settlement inhabited simultaneously and sequentially by Jews, Christians and Muslims. The earliest settlement dated from the late Second Temple period (first century BCE–first century CE) to the Bar Kokhba Revolt, and included rock-cut buildings and installations, such as caves, ritual baths (miqwa’ot), hiding complexes, columbarium and agricultural installations. The most important discovery at the site was a magnificent church dating to the Byzantine period. The church was a west–east oriented basilica, with a central nave flanked by two stoas that were separated from the nave by two rows of columns made of light gray imported marble. The church was entered via wide openings from the west, through an atrium and a narthex. The apse in the east was flanked by two rooms. The floors of the nave and the apse were decorated with spectacular colorful mosaics that depicted animals, while the mosaics in the stoas were adorned with geometric patterns. The room to the south of the apse was paved with stone slabs; within it was a portable reliquary. Next to the room to the north of the apse was a stepped vestibule leading to a subterranean space, possibly the location of a holy tomb. Following the Muslim conquest, the church continued in use with only minor changes: the crosses that had adorned the large stone pillars were deliberately covered with a layer of fine plaster, and the access to the tomb was blocked. It is likely that the building was used by Christians who converted to Islam.

Download

Share

COinS