Khirbet Abu-Ghunneim - METOPA (?)/ PHOTEINOS (?)

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Monastery name, type, category

Site Name:

Khirbet Abu-Ghunneim

Identification:

Corbo identified the complex found at Kh. Abu Ghunneim as the monastery of Photeinos, founded by Marinos, near the village of Metopa, in the fifth century, mentioned by Cyril of Scythopolis (v. Euth. 8,16; v. Sab. 29, 114; v. Theodosius 2, 237).

Monastery name:

METOPA (?)/ PHOTEINOS (?)

Monastery type:

Cenobium

Monastery category:

Village

Location

Coordinates, ITM system:

22,100.00

62,590.00

Coordinates, ICS system:

17,100.00

12,590.00

Geographical region:

Judean Desert fringes

Provincial affiliation:

Palaestina I

Bishopric:

Jerusalem

Topographical location:

Hilltop

Distance from nearest bishop-seat:

5 km (Jerusalem)

Distance from nearest settlement:

2.5 km (Bethlehem)

Distance from Roman roads:

1.5 km

Source of knowledge

Literary sources

Archaeological remains

Surveyed site

Surveyors:

Name	Date
Guérin	1868-1869
Kloner	2000

Excavated site

Excavators:

Name	Date
Corbo	1951-1952

Bibliograpy:

Thomsen, P., 1907
Abel, F. M., 1938	II: 385-86
Corbo, V. C., 1954	570-75
Corbo, V. C., 1955‎	141-45
Milik, J. T., 1960	572
Ovadiah, A., 1970	105
Ovadiah, R. and Ovadiah, A., 1987	92
Cohen, R., 1993	1067-70
Di Segni, L., 2005	82, 164, 252
Magen, Y. and Kagan, E. D., 2012	95

Abbreviation for Journals and Series

State of certainty:

Archaeologicaly definitive

General description

State of preservation/which parts were uncovered:

The site was excavated in 1951-52 revealing a monastic complex. The enclosing walls were partially preserved but the interior was in a poor state of preservation.

Illustrative material:

Illustrative_material

Figures

Khirbet Abu-Ghunneim - general plan of the site (Magen and Kagan 2012 II: 95, no. 217)

General description

Enclosing walls:

The complex is rectangular (24.75 x 18.40 m).

Courtyards:

A small inner courtyard was observed, paved with a coarse white mosaic.

Churche/s:

The church (16.70 x 5.10 m) was located in the northern part of the complex. Walls dating to the Early Islamic period divided it into rooms. The church was constructed of ashlars, apparently brought from the basilica in Bethlehem. The church was paved with a mosaic which had been mostly destroyed. The apse is semi-circular on the interior (2.25 m radius) and rectangular on the exterior. Three fragments of chancel screen rail were found.

Water installations:

A cistern is located in the courtyard

Small finds

Small finds:

Category	Description
Pottery	The pottery assemblage is dated to 5th-6th centuries (the majority to fifth)

Detailed description

Dimensions:

Total area (sqm)	Size class
455	Small

Structure

Materials applied (walls):

Limestone

Components

Enclosing wall

Courtyard/s

Monastery church:

Church type	Diakonikon	Link to church section	Church location
single nave		Khirbet Abu-Ghunneim - Church	Ground floor

Water installations:

Cisterns

Architectural evolution

Phase 1
Abandonment

General outline:

A rectangular structure with a church in its northern part was excavated.

Dating material:

Based on the pottery assemblage, the majority of which was dated to the fifth century, the monastery was founded sometime in the late fifth century.

Phase date

Century:

5th c.

Within century:

Second half

General outline:

The monastery was abandoned in the Early Islamic period.

Dating material:

The church was divided into rooms indicating the non-Christian identity of the occupants.

Phase date

Century:

7th-8th c.

Post Arab conquest history:

Abandoned

Post conquest history comments:

The monastery was reoccupied in the Early Islamic period by a non-Christian population.