Authors

Rina Avner

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Download Full Text (42.1 MB)

Download Front Matter (277 KB)

Download Chpater 1: Introduction / Rina Avner (1.5 MB)

Download Chapter 2: The Octagonal Church—Architecture and Stratigraphy / Rina Avner (10.2 MB)

Download Chapter 3: The Entrance Atria and the Monastery—Architecture and Stratigraphy / Rina Avner (5.0 MB)

Download Chapter 4: The Mosaic Floors / Rina Avner (7.0 MB)

Download Chapter 5: The Inscriptions / Lea Di Segni (671 KB)

Download Chapter 6: Architectural Elements and Liturigical Furniture / Rina Avner (2.3 MB)

Download Chapter 7: The Coins / Donald T. Ariel and Ariel Berman (1.0 MB)

Download Chapter 8: The Pottery / Rina Avner (1.7 MB)

Download Chapter 9: The Glass Finds / Yael Gorin-Rosen and Tamar Winter (1.7 MB)

Download Chapter 10: The Katisma Church in its Historical Content in the Early Islamic Period / Rina Avner (1.2 MB)

Download Chapter 11: Summary and Discussion / Rina Avner (227 KB)

Download References (289 KB)

Download Appendix 1: A Rhodian Stamped Amphora Handle from Kathisma / Gerald Finkielsztein (227 KB)

Download Appendix 2: List of Selected Loci and Walls (693 KB)

Description

This volume documents the excavations of the Kathisma church and monastery located on the ancient road from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. Kathisma is mentioned in Byzantine sources and pilgrimage itineraries, and identified as the holy place where Mary sat down to rest in her final stage of pregnancy before giving birth to Jesus. It played a role in the initial stages of Mary’s worship and its influence is still felt today. The octagonal church, built in the fifth century CE, is one of the most important discoveries of Early Christian architecture in the Holy Land in recent decades. The size of the church and its architectural plan, based on three concentric octagons, attest to it being designed as a pilgrimage church that could accommodate large audiences. In the Umayyad period, the church served both Muslim and Christian worshippers, as indicated by a miḥrab installed in the southern part, and the cancelation of the main apse by an Umayyad building. The splendid mosaics from this period in the southern rooms testify to artistic and iconographic influences of the wall mosaics in the Dome of the Rock. The evidence for the existence of a mosque in the Kathisma church constitutes the only archaeological evidence known to date for the ‘Covenants of ‘Umar’, which obliged Christians to relinquish areas in churches to Muslims.

EISBN

9789654067546

Publication Date

5-4-2022

Publisher

Israel Antiquities Authority

City

Jerusalem

Keywords

69 Monastery, early Christian architecture, mosaics, Byzantine church, pilgrimage

Disciplines

Historic Preservation and Conservation | History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology

Comments

This volume documents the excavations of the Kathisma church and monastery located on the ancient road from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. Kathisma is mentioned in Byzantine sources and pilgrimage itineraries, and identified as the holy place where Mary sat down to rest in her final stage of pregnancy before giving birth to Jesus. It played a role in the initial stages of Mary’s worship and its influence is still felt today. The octagonal church, built in the fifth century CE, is one of the most important discoveries of Early Christian architecture in the Holy Land in recent decades. The size of the church and its architectural plan, based on three concentric octagons, attest to it being designed as a pilgrimage church that could accommodate large audiences. In the Umayyad period, the church served both Muslim and Christian worshippers, as indicated by a miḥrab installed in the southern part, and the cancelation of the main apse by an Umayyad building. The splendid mosaics from this period in the southern rooms testify to artistic and iconographic influences of the wall mosaics in the Dome of the Rock. The evidence for the existence of a mosque in the Kathisma church constitutes the only archaeological evidence known to date for the ‘Covenants of ‘Umar’, which obliged Christians to relinquish areas in churches to Muslims.

The Kathisma Church and Monastery of Mary Theotokos on the Jerusalem–Bethlehem Road Final Report of the 1992, 1997, 1999 and 2000 Excavation Seasons

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