Deir Qal'a; Deir el-Qal'a - Monastery

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Monastery name, type, category

Site Name:

Deir Qal'a; Deir el-Qal'a

Monastery name:

Monastery

Monastery type:

Cenobium

Monastery category:

Isolated in the countryside

Former fortress

Location

Coordinates, ITM system:

20,430.00

66,270.00

Coordinates, ICS system:

15,430.00

16,270.00

Geographical region:

Southern and Western Samaria

Provincial affiliation:

Palaestina I

Bishopric:

Diospolis

Topographical location:

Spur of a hill

Distance from nearest bishop-seat:

ca. 15 km (Lod-Diospolis)

Distance from Roman roads:

ca. 0.5 km from the road leading to Shechem-Neapolis from the coast.

Source of knowledge

Epigraphy

Archaeological remains

Surveyed site

Surveyors:

Name	Date
Guérin	1874-1875
Conder and Kitchener	1871-1877
Kochavi	1967-1968
Finkelstein, Lederman and Bunimovitz	1981-1985
Hirschfeld	1989-1990

Excavated site

Excavators:

Name	Date
Magen and Aizik	2004

Bibliograpy:

Guérin, V., 1874-1875	126-9
Conder, C. R. and Kitchener, H. H., 1882	315-19
Avi-Yonah, M., 1933	136-81
Ovadiah, A., 1970	49
Kochavi, M. and Ovadiah, R., 1972	132-33
Hirschfeld, Y., 1988/89	96-104
Tsafrir, Y., Di Segni, L. and Green, J., 1994	111
Finkelstein, I., Bunimvitz, S. and Lederman, Z., 1997	251-53
Bagatti, B., 2002	169
Hirschfeld, Y., 2002	155-89
Magen, Y., 2008	177-216
Magen, Y. and Aizik, N., 2012	107-56
Magen, Y. and Kagan, E. D., 2012	147-51
Di Segni, L., 2012	157-60
Dayan, A., 2015	69-72

Abbreviation for Journals and Series

State of certainty:

Archaeologicaly definitive

General description

State of preservation/which parts were uncovered:

The excavation of the site revealed a monastery established within a Late Roman fortress. The state of preservation was excellent with some walls remaining to an impressive height.

Illustrative material:

Illustrative_material

Photos

Figures

Location and access routes to Deir Qal'a

Plan drawn by Conder and Kitchener (SWP II: 318)

Plan and section of the cave- looking east

Deir el-Qal'a, construction phases of the site (Magen and Kagan 2012 I: 148, no. 37).

General description

Enclosing walls:

The Late Roman fortress (49 x 38 m) in which the monastery was established consisted of a complex surrounded by a defensive wall built of ashlars.

Courtyards:

The Roman period courtyard was divided into two internal courtyards. The southern one measuring 26 x 10 m. It extended across the southern wing to the southern chapel, cutting into the original mosaic paving. The northern courtyard (12 x 8 m) was not excavated. It extended southwards from the northern gate and was probably bound in the south and east by the chapel complex and on the western side by the rooms built in the Byzantine period. In the eastern part of the courtyard, two winepresses were erected.

Tower/s:

The Late Roman tower rises to a height of two stories and has an opening in its northern wall. In the seventh century, the tower became residential and some structural changes were made to accommodate this. Some walls were built and an upper story was added. A cistern, built in the Late Roman phase continued in use and was re-plastered.

Churche/s:

The chapel complex of the monastery was the major addition in the monastic phase. The chapels were erected in the former fortress' central courtyard. The chapels underwent three building stages: a. Second half of fifth century CE- the southern chapel was erected. b. End of the fifth century or beginning of the sixth century CE- the apse and bema were shifted eastwards and a narthex added in the west. c. First half of the sixth century CE- the northern chapel and two intermediate rooms were built.

Dwellings:

A row of rooms was erected in the northwest of the complex, these were partially exposed. The rooms were paved with a white mosaic. The function of the rooms is unclear but possibly they served as cells for the resident monks. The Late Roman period tower was converted into a residential wing. According to Hirschfeld, a dormitory existed on the second story.

Burials:

Two tombs were hewn into an earlier channel that led water from the southern gate to the southwestern pool. The entrance to the eastern tomb was hewn (1.7 x 0.6 m) and it was surrounded by a shallow channel to drain away rainwater. The tomb had two arcosolia. The western tomb was similar in plan but had one arcosolium.

Cave/s:

A dwelling cave and hermit's cells were located at the top of the cliff to the west of the complex. The cave was not excavated. This is a natural karstic cave that had been adapted for residential use. The entrance is in the northwest. It had been blocked with a fieldstone wall, partially extant. The cave has two levels, the upper one measuring 15 x 12 m. fragments of mosaic were observed among the debris on the floor of the cave, indicating a pavement. A small hewn hermit’s cell (3 x 2.5 m) is located in the cave’s southwestern wall. The cell was bounded by a wall of small fieldstones. A second cell (5.5 x 3.5 m) is located in the south of the cave. This cell is rectangular, its opening facing north. A hewn prayer niche is located to the northeast of the cell and next to it, on the east, was a spring. The water from the spring filled a baptismal font located opposite the spring’s outlet. The excess water was drained by a shallow channel. The lower level of the cave (9 x 8 m) has an opening facing northwest which had a wall built of fieldstones in secondary use.

Water installations:

A hewn cistern, plastered with pink hydraulic plaster, was found under the northern part of the tower (7.3 x 3.3 x 3.65 m; capacity 88 m3). A clay gutter and Channels conducted water to the cistern. The cistern was covered with stone slabs supported by arches. Quarries of an earlier period, east of the complex, were turned into pools making use of the slope to collect runoff water. The water from these pools was used to irrigate the fields located to the west and to the north of the monastery. The eastern pool was the largest of these measuring 33.5 x 10.5 x 5 m, has an estimated capacity of 1,000 cu.m. Two pools to the north are identical in size (11.5 x 5 x 2) hava joint capacity of ca. 250 cu.m. A pool southwest of the complex was not excavated. It measures 10 x 8.5 x 2 m (estimate), with a capacity estimated at 350 cu.m.

Agricultural and industrial installations:

Two wine presses were found in the eastern part of the southern courtyard, hewn into the bedrock. A hewn square treading floor (4.9 x 4.5 m), a settling pit (0.8 x 0.7 x 0.5 m) and a plastered collecting vat (1.85 x 1.85 x 0.9 m) were found. An oil press was established in the Early Islamic period.

Small finds

Small finds:

Category	Description
Pottery	Storage jars of various types (80% of the entire assemblage): domestic vessels (bowls, kraters, lamps) were found in smaller amounts, implying that the number of residents was limited.

Detailed description

Dimensions:

Total area (sqm)	Size class
1,860	Medium

Structure

Materials applied (walls):

Limestone

Materials applied (roofing):

tiles

timber

Components

Enclosing wall

Border marks

Gate/s:

Tower/s

Courtyard/s

Monastery church:

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

Dwelling type:

cells

Number of stories:

Tombs type:

Burial chamber

Arcosolium

Built paths

Retaining walls

Agricultural installations:

oil press\es [=o/p]

wine press\es [=w/p]

Terraces [=t]

Water installations:

Cisterns

Channels

Gutters

Water capacity (minimal) (cubic m):

1.700

Inscribed crosses

Architectural evolution

Phase 1
Abandonment

Phase name (as published):

Phase II; Byzantine period.

General outline:

The monastery was established in an earlier, Late Roman fort. Structural changes were made when the site became a monastery, especially in the area of the courtyard. A chapel was constructed, undergoing three construction phases. A row of rooms was erected in the northwest of the complex - their function has not been ascertained.

Dating material:

The monastery is dated to the second half of the fifth century CE based on the pottery and a dated inscription.

Phase date

Century:

5th c.

Within century:

Second half

Iconoclastic evidence

Iconoclastic evidence:

Phase name (as published):

Phase III: Early Islamic period.

General outline:

An oil press was installed and some minor changes took place in the tower and some other parts of the complex. At this time the monastery may have ceased to function.

Phase date

Century:

7th c.

Within century:

First half

Iconoclastic evidence

Iconoclastic evidence:

Post Arab conquest history:

Ceased to function

Post conquest history comments:

The monastery ceased to function sometime at the end of the Byzantine period or the beginning of the Islamic period. There were no signs of deliberate destruction or burning. The dominant change in this period was the installation of an oil press in the complex.