Ḥorvat Qav - Monastery

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Monastery name, type, category

Site Name:

Ḥorvat Qav

Monastery name:

Monastery

Monastery type:

Cenobium

Monastery category:

Village

Location

Coordinates, ITM system:

226,845.00

757,108.00

Coordinates, ICS system:

176,842.00

257,108.00

Geographical region:

Western Galilee

Provincial affiliation:

Palaestina II

Bishopric:

Sepphoris

Topographical location:

level ground in hilly area.

Soils:

limestone and terra rosa

Distance from nearest bishop-seat:

23 km (Sepphoris)

Distance from Roman roads:

ca. 1 km south of the road leading eastwards from Acco-Ptolemais.

Source of knowledge

Archaeological remains

Excavated site

Excavators:

Name	Date
Stern, Abu Uqsa and Getzov	1998

Bibliograpy:

Press, I., 1964-1955	348
Ovadiah, A. and de Silva, C. G., 1984	143
Stern, E. , Abu-'Uqsa, H. and Getzov, N., 2000	16-18
Ashkenazi, J. and Aviam, M., 2017	117-33

Abbreviation for Journals and Series

State of certainty:

Archaeologicaly definitive

General description

State of preservation/which parts were uncovered:

A church, an atrium, a winepress, and rooms were uncovered. Only a few courses remained in most of the walls. In the southern part, some walls remained to a height of 1 m. The mosaic pavement in the church was in a poor state of preservation.

Illustrative material:

Illustrative_material

Figures

Stern et al., Horvat Qav, aerial, HA 112 (2000), p. 17 (Hebrew)

General description

Enclosing walls:

Enclosing walls were found on the northern, western and southern sides of the complex.

Courtyards:

A courtyard (13 x 8 m), the church's atrium, was located west of the church. The courtyard was unpaved and three entrances led into the church in its west, one of which had been blocked at some later stage.

Churche/s:

A basilical church (10 x 10 m) with an external apse was located in the southern part of the monastery. The church, with three openings on the west, had 3 columns in each row. Another opening was in its northern wall. It was paved with a mosaic featuring geometric designs, and found in a poor state of preservation. The bema was delineated by a screen on the west and by low walls on the north and south. The paved atrium, on the west, was 13x8m in dimensions.

Dwellings:

The excavator suggested that the rooms in the northern part of the complex served as dwellings.

Agricultural and industrial installations:

A winepress was found in the northeastern part of the complex. The treading floor (6 x 6 m) was paved with stone. A stone base for a screw mechanism was found in the treading-floor. A clay pipe led the liquid into a small settling vat and from there into a large collection vat with a 36³ m capacity. The rim of the vat was paved with stone flags, each inscribed with a cross. Two large stones belonging to an oil press (not in situ) were also found.

Small finds

Small finds:

Category	Description
Metal objects	Two small spherical bowls, each with three chains attached to the rim; a bronze cross.
Stone vessels	A fragment of marble lid belonging to a reliquary.
Coins	A cache of 50 gold coins, dated between 603- 665 CE.
Oil lamps	Oil lamp in which the coins were hidden.

Detailed description

Dimensions:

Size class
Small

Structure

Materials applied (walls):

Limestone

Components

Enclosing wall

Courtyard/s

Monastery church:

Church type	Diakonikon	Link to church section	Church location
basilical			Ground floor

Baptismal font

Number of stories:

Agricultural installations:

oil press\es [=o/p]

wine press\es [=w/p]

Water installations:

Cisterns

Inscribed crosses

Architectural evolution

Phase 1
Abandonment

General outline:

No stratification of the monastic phase was reported by the excavator. The monastery was constructed on the remains of an earlier settlement dating to the early Byzantine period. It was founded in the late Byzantine period.

Phase date

Century:

6th-7th c.

Iconoclastic evidence

Iconoclastic evidence:

General outline:

The monastery was abandoned sometime in the early seventh century CE. It showed no signs of violent destruction.

Phase date

Century:

7th-8th c.

Post Arab conquest history:

Abandoned

Post conquest history comments:

The monastery was abandoned in the Early Islamic period. It was resettled in the Abbasid period (8th century CE) and the existing structures, which were mostly intact, were used as a potters' workshop evidenced by the large amount of potters' debris and squashed vessels.