Ḥorvat Hanot - Monastery (?)

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Monastery name, type, category

Site Name:

Ḥorvat Hanot

Identification:

The site was identified in Byzantine tradition as the location of the battle between David and Goliath. Two literary sources refer to it (Theodosius, Di Situ Terrae Sanctae, chap. 3 [ed. Geyer]; Antonini Placentini Itinerarium, chap.31 [ed. Geyer]). Neither of these sources, however, mention a church or any other structure.

Monastery name:

Monastery (?)

Monastery type:

Cenobium

Monastery category:

Isolated in the countryside

Pilgrims

Source of sacredness:

Old Testament site

Location

Coordinates, ITM system:

204,530.00

624,380.00

Coordinates, ICS system:

154,526.00

124,379.00

Geographical region:

Shephelah

Provincial affiliation:

Palaestina I

Bishopric:

Eleutheropolis

Topographical location:

On the moderate northern slope of Mt. Hanot

Distance from nearest bishop-seat:

ca.18 km (Eleutheropolis)

Distance from Roman roads:

Less than 1 km from the ancient road that connected Eleutheropolis with the Judean hills and Jerusalem

Source of knowledge

Epigraphy

Archaeological remains

Excavated site

Excavators:

Name	Date
Shenhav	1985

Bibliograpy:

Guérin, V., 1869
Schick, R., 1995	310
Shenhav, E., 1998	181-90
Di Segni, L., 2003	273-76
Shenhav, E., 2003	269-72
Di Segni, L., 2016	186*
Weiss, D., Zissu, B. and Solimany, G., 2004	Site no. 129
Radashkovsky, I, 2020

Abbreviation for Journals and Series

Discussion:

The inscription found at the site mentions "Theodore, priest and hegumen". The title of "hegumen" immediately raises the possibility of the site having been a monastery. Di Segni argues that this was not a monastery proper but a road station providing services for pilgrims (Di Segni 2003: 275; 2016: 186*). Two excavation seasons in 2015-16 further revealed the sophisticated winepress, the burial chamber beneath the chapel and other structures. These revelations lend support to the identification of Ḥorvat Ḥanot as a monastery rather than just a road station, as proposed by Di Segni.

State of certainty:

Uncertain / Questionable

General description

State of preservation/which parts were uncovered:

A salvage excavation revealed a large part of the church's nave. At the time of the survey in 1990's some of the walls were preserved to a height of two m. The preservation of the site, at the time of excavation was poor. Since the excavation, the mosaic pavement has been almost completely destroyed.

Illustrative material:

Illustrative_material

Photos

Horvat Hanot- the chapel with entrnace to the crypt, looking south (Radashkovsky 2020, HA 132)

Figures

Horvat Hanot- location map (Radashkovsky 2020, HA 132)

Ḥ. Ḥanot- the mosaic floor (Shenhav 2003: 271, Fig. 1).

Ḥ. Ḥanot- western carpet with inscription (Shenhav 2003: 271, Fig. 2).

General description

Churche/s:

The hall, uncovered in the early excavation (1985-6), was adorned with two mosaic carpets, one of which bore a Greek inscription. Although an apse is mentioned in the inscription (dated to 594 or 609 CE- see Epigraphy), no traces of it have been found. A later excavation (2015-2016) revealed a hall beyond the eastern wall of the hall mentioned above. This hall had a north-south orientation and remains of springs of two arches were uncovered. In the center of this hall was a shaft leading to a burial chamber. The entrance had been covered by stone slabs, one of which remains in situ.

A doorway in the southern wall led into another hall, decorated with a mosaic floor of which only traces remain, which may have served as a diakonikon although the excavators suggested that a room to the north served as such.

Bathhouse:

About seven meters east of the church a second structure was unearthed. A large number of tiles (0.20 x 0.20 m) were found in the excavation. Based on these,the excavator suggested that the structure may have been a bathhouse.

Burials:

A rock-cut shaft leads down through 8 hewn steps into the burial chamber (2.4 x 2.6 m; 1.4 m high), with a bedrock floor. The entrance was covered by stone slabs, one of which remains in situ. Marks in the floor indicate that there had been a coffin.

Hostelry:

A detached structure located west of the main structure may have served as a pilgrims' hospice.

Water installations:

A bell shaped cistern was located in a room south of the prayer hall (not excavated).

Agricultural and industrial installations:

A winepress was located about 12 m from the church. Two phases of the Byzantine period were discerned. In the first phase it included: a square treading floor paved with red and white tesserae, a large square settling tank and a square collecting vat connected to it via a hole.

In the second phase the winepress was expanded into a complex winepress. The installation consisted of a crushing floor paved in a white mosaic and a plastered collection vat (2 x 1.4 x 2 m with a capacity of 5.60 m³). In the center of the crushing floor, an installation for pressing was uncovered and a channel ran under the mosaic paving to the collecting vat. The collecting vat had a small settling basin in its southwestern corner and its walls were plastered. Two steps led into the vat and in its western wall, a shelf was installed, possibly to rest vessels. Five smaller units built around the treading floor may have served as smaller presses, each contained a treading floor and a collecting vat.

Small finds

Small finds:

Category	Description
Inscription - see under epigraphy
Pottery	A thin-walled jug; an imported amphora. Found in the wine press: bowls; krater; cooking pots; Gaza ware jar.
Oil lamps	A complete oil lamp dated to the late Byzantine period. Fragments of lamps from the Mameluk period.

Detailed description

Structure

Materials applied (walls):

Limestone

Components

Monastery church:

Church type	Diakonikon	Link to church section	Church location
unknown	Diakonikon	Ḥorvat Hanot - Church	Ground floor

Bathhouse

Hostelry

Tombs type:

Burial chamber

Agricultural installations:

wine press\es [=w/p]

Water installations:

Cisterns

Inscribed crosses

Architectural evolution

Phase 1
Phase 2
Abandonment

General outline:

Only part of the nave was excavated. The foundation date of the structure is not known but as it served the many pilgrims that travelled in the Holy Land it most likely was first constructed sometime in the sixth century.

Dating material:

Suggested

Phase date

Century:

6th c.

General outline:

Sometime in the late sixth or early seventh century the church was modified and redecorated as is described in the inscription: an apse, murals, marble facing on the end wall of the presbytery, and a diakonikon were added and a new mosaic pavement was laid. The possible dates provided by the inscription are 563/4, 578/9, 593/4 or 608/9. According to Di Segni (2003: 275), the preferred dates are April 594 or April 609 CE.

Dating material:

Epigraphic

Phase date

Century:

6th c.

Within century:

Late

General outline:

The site was abandoned sometime in the first half of the eighth century.

Dating material:

The mosaic pavement showed signs of iconoclasm and mending. It was abandoned before the great earthquake of 749 CE as hardly any finds of the Early Islamic period were recovered.

Phase date

Century:

8th c.

Within century:

First half

Iconoclastic evidence

Iconoclastic evidence:

Yes

Iconoclastic evidence comments:

Repair of the defaced animal images was by reinsertion of the scrambled tesserae

Post Arab conquest history:

Still in use

Post conquest history comments:

The structure was occupied in later periods. The mosaic pavement showed signs of fire having been lit on it, probably by travelers. In the Middle Ages the site served as a Khan, rooms were built with blocks in secondary use. The site was abandoned in the late Middle Ages and used by shepherds.