Bir el Qutt - ST. THEODORE

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Monastery name, type, category

Site Name:

Bir el Qutt

Identification:

Based on a Georgian inscription found in the refectory of the monastery, Corbo named it after St. Theodore. He suggested (1955, 130) identifying it with the monastery of the Lazi mentioned by Procopius (Buildings V, ix, 7) as a monastery restored by Justinian in the Desert of Jerusalem. Given the fact that no imperial involvement is recorded in the inscriptions uncovered at the site, this identification is cast in doubt. See Tchekhanovets 2018, 149.

Monastery name:

ST. THEODORE

Monastery type:

Cenobium

Monastery category:

Isolated in the countryside

Former ruin

Location

Coordinates, ITM system:

22,085.00

62,511.00

Coordinates, ICS system:

17,085.00

12,511.00

Geographical region:

Judean Hills

Provincial affiliation:

Palaestina I

Bishopric:

Jerusalem

Topographical location:

Hilltop

Distance from nearest bishop-seat:

5 km (Jerusalem)

Distance from nearest settlement:

1.5 km (Bethlehem)

Distance from Roman roads:

1 km east of the road connecting Bethlehem with Jerusalem.

Source of knowledge

HideLiterary sources

Text number	Summary
1	Mention of the monastery of the Lazi in the Judean Desert among the buildings restored by Justinian, from a panegyric of AD 550s.

HideEpigraphy

Text number	Summary
1	Georgian dedicatory inscription of Abbot Antonius, 6. c. CE.
2	Georgian dedicatory inscription of Bakur and Gri-Ormizd, 6 c. CE
3	Georgian dedicatory inscription of Maruan and Bursen, 6 c. CE
4	Fragmentary Georgian inscription, 6 c. CE.

Archaeological remains

Excavated site

Excavators:

Name	Date
Corbo	1952-53

Bibliograpy:

Corbo, V. C., 1955	113-139
Corbo, V. C., 1955
Ovadiah, A., 1970	43-4
Ovadiah, A. and de Silva, C. G., 1982	129
Ovadiah, R. and Ovadiah, A., 1987	44-5
Tsafrir, Y., Di Segni, L. and Green, J., 1994	90
Schick, R., 1995
Kloner, A., 2000	51
Brenk, B., 2004	447-76
Magen, Y. and Kagan, E. D., 2012	96-7
Tchekhanovets Y., 2018	137-150

Abbreviation for Journals and Series

State of certainty:

Archaeologicaly definitive

General description

State of preservation/which parts were uncovered:

The site, excavated in 1955 by Corbo, revealed a fairly well preserved monastic complex surrounded by a wall. The excavation uncovered a chapel, tombs, the central courtyard, and other components of the monastery.

Illustrative material:

Illustrative_material

Photos

Bir el Qutt- Byzantine capital (Corbo 1955: Tab. 33 phot. 99).

Bir el Qutt- Georgian inscription from the refectory (Corbo 1955: tab. 34, phot. 104).

Bir el Qutt- mosaic paving of the refectory (Corbo 1955: tab. 34, phot. 103).

Figures

Bir el Qutt - general plan of the monastery (Corbo 1955: 112, Fig. 30)

General description

Enclosing walls:

The enclosing wall is 35 x 30 m, enclosing an area of 1050 m2.

Gate/s:

The entrance to the compound was in the eastern wall. On the right side of the entrance was the porter's lodge. The threshold was carved of rock and the entrance chamber paved with a coarse white mosaic. Two carved stone benches were located on the northern and southern walls of the gateway.

Courtyards:

A large central courtyard was surrounded by columns and paved with a polychrome mosaic featuring geometric patterns and inscriptions. The courtyard was surrounded by service rooms including a refectory, a kitchen and storerooms. The church was to the north of the courtyard.

Churche/s:

The church (19 x 7.5 m) is in the northern part of the monastery. It is entered through two openings on the southwest and has an inner apse. The church had been decorated with a mosaic floor most of which did not survive. Parallel to the church, a long and narrow space (room 2) served as a funerary chapel and perhaps as a diakonikon. This chapel was paved in a mosaic which mostly did not survive. A door in its northwestern corner connected with the church.

Dwellings:

According to Corbo, a dormitory was located in the second story above the stable, in the southern part of the complex.

Refectory:

Southwest of the church, a passage leads to a large hall that had been roofed by three arches on piers. Corbo identified this as the refectory of the monastery. The hall was paved in a mosaic featuring geometric designs, and a Georgian inscription in a tabula ansata.

Burials:

Below the eastern part of the chapel there was a crypt that contained trough tombs. South of the church, a long rectangular hall probably served as a funerary chapel. A subterranean rock-cut cave, located beneath the eastern part of this hall was probably used for burial of the monks. Some of the tombs had been originally Herodian and were reused in the Byzantine period.

Storage facilities:

It has been suggested that the other rooms on the ground floor were used for storage.

Kitchen:

A kitchen was located in the western part of the complex, between the refectory and the rooms containing a winepress and an oil press. The kitchen was paved with a coarse mosaic. Two plastered benches were found in the kitchen and a small basin (0.28 m diameter at the mouth and 0.65 m deep) that originally possessed a cover. The basin was coated with a smooth, hard plaster.

Stable:

A stable stood in the southern part of the complex is indicated by a trough, adjacent to its western wall.

Water installations:

A large cistern (8 x 6.30 x 7 m, with a capacity of 352 cu.m) was located below the courtyard. The cistern was rectangular, divided into two parts by a pier in the center which supported the two arches of its roof. A second cistern was located near the eastern perimeter wall of the complex.

Agricultural and industrial installations:

A wine press and an oil press were located in the southwestern corner of the complex leading off from the kitchen.

Small finds

Small finds:

Category	Description
Inscription - see under epigraphy	A Georgian inscription.
Pottery	Some Roman sherds were found in the reused Herodian tombs. Most of the vessels were dated to the Byzantine period. These included fragments of jars, jugs, bowls and flasks.
Oil lamps	An inscribed fragment.
Stone vessels	A fragment of a bowl coarsely carved out of soft soapstone featuring a geometric design.
Coins	A coin of Valentinianus II (375-392 CE); a coin of Anastasius I (491-518 CE); A coin of Constance II (641-668 CE); An Ayyubid coin.
Jewelry	A silver ring inlaid with a red stone.

Small finds illustrative material:

Illustrative_material

Figures

Bir el Qutt- pottery and glass (Corbo 1955:131, Fig. 40).

Detailed description

Dimensions:

Total area (sqm)	Size class
1,050	Medium

Structure

Materials applied (walls):

Limestone

Components

Enclosing wall

Gate/s:

Courtyard/s

Monastery church:

Church type	Diakonikon	Link to church section	Church location
single nave	Diakonikon		Ground floor

Refectory

Dwelling type:

dormitory

Number of stories:

Storage facilities – warehouses

Kitchen

Stable

Tombs type:

Burial chamber

Agricultural installations:

oil press\es [=o/p]

wine press\es [=w/p]

Water installations:

Cisterns

Water capacity (minimal) (cubic m):

353

Inscribed crosses

Architectural evolution

Phase 1
Abandonment

General outline:

The site consists of a walled compound containing a chapel, a funerary chapel, tombs, refectory, stable, oil and wine presses, a central courtyard and cisterns. No stratification was reported by the excavator.

Dating material:

Second half of the sixth century CE, based on the inscriptions.

Phase date

Century:

6th c.

Within century:

Second half

General outline:

Probably abandoned soon after the Arab conquest.

Dating material:

Pottery.

Phase date

Century:

7th c.

Within century:

Mid

Post Arab conquest history:

Abandoned

Post conquest history comments:

The monastery showed no evidence of violent destruction.