Khirbet ed-Duweir - Monastery

Vertical tabs

Monastery name, type, category
Site Name: 
Khirbet ed-Duweir
Monastery name: 
Monastery
Monastery type: 
Cenobium
Monastery category: 
Isolated in the countryside
Former fortress
Location
Coordinates, ITM system: 
21,232.00
60,911.00
Coordinates, ICS system: 
16,232.00
10,911.00
Geographical region: 
Hebron Hills
Provincial affiliation: 
Palaestina I
Bishopric: 
Jerusalem
Topographical location: 
Hilltop
Distance from nearest bishop-seat: 
ca. 29 km (Jerusalem)
Distance from nearest settlement: 
ca. 1.5 km (Caparbaricha).
Distance from Roman roads: 
ca. 1 km west of the road leading from Thecoa to the eastern Negev.
Source of knowledge
Archaeological remains
Excavated site
Excavators: 
NameDate
Batz and Sharukh
1995-1996
Bibliograpy: 
Magen, Y., 2008
217-46
Batz, S. and Sharukh, I., 2012
61-106
Magen, Y. and Kagan, E. D., 2012
190
Abbreviation for Journals and Series
State of certainty: 
Archaeologicaly definitive
General description
State of preservation/which parts were uncovered: 

The site was excavated extensively, revealing the remains of a complex where five phases of occupation were discerned. In places, the encompassing wall survived to a height of eight courses (3 m).

Illustrative material: 
General description
Enclosing walls: 

The enclosing walls of the Roman fortress were 51 x 30 m, surrounding an area of 1,530 m2

Gate/s: 

The entrance to the monastery was on its western side, it led to a roofed corridor and a wall enclosed courtyard.

Courtyards: 

Two stone-paved courtyards with rooms to their north were part of the original Roman fortress, adapted for use during the monastic phase.

Tower/s: 

The complex included a tower in its southwestern corner. Changes were made in the tower in the monastic phase. The second story was apparently residential, reached by a staircase adjoining the tower's northeastern corner.

Churche/s: 

The church was on the second story as is indicated by sections of mosaic paving, marble elements and stones carved with crosses that had fallen into the area below. Its location was apparently over the area that contained the reservoir of the previous phase.

Dwellings: 

Remains of collapsed white mosaic paving on the tower floor indicate a residential area on the second story.

Refectory: 

The second story apparently housed the refectory (10.5 x 5 m). A staircase that led to the upper floor was found west of the courtyard, with four steps found in situ.

Kitchen: 

Rooms north of courtyard B (the western courtyard of the earlier phase) reveal evidence of a rectangular hall containing dining vessels, indicating that it served as the monastery’s kitchen. The hall had three arches that had supported a second story.

Baking oven: 

An oven was constructed in the previous phase's courtyard B. The oven is oval, its inner surface comprised a fill of beaten earth with a baked clay covering. The interior was lined with clay tiles rising to a dome shape.

Stable: 

The lower story of the tower had a beaten earth floor, indicating, according to the excavators, that it was used for stabling animals.

Water installations: 

The water conservation system: in the Early Roman period three bell-shaped cisterns and a fourth, elliptical one, were hewn. Rock cut channels led to all the cisterns. The cisterns and channels continued to serve the site in the periods that followed. A miqvwe (Jewish ritual bath) constructed in the Early Roman period was modified to serve as a cistern by blocking the staircase leading down to it, and a hole breached in its roof to allow access to the water.

Agricultural and industrial installations: 

A hewn winepress was discovered west of the complex. It has a treading floor (5 x 4.5 m) and an oval collecting vat 3 x 1.5 x 0.4 m deep (1.8 m3 capacity).

Small finds
Small finds: 
CategoryDescription
Pottery
The ceramic finds from the Late Roman and Early Byzantine period (third to fifth centuries CE) are scant. The majority of the pottery assemblages are dated to the Byzantine and Early Islamic period (sixth to eighth centuries CE): domestic vessels and quite a few imported vessels including FBW; storage vessels;
Stone vessels
Fragments of two liturgical bowls of marble; two stone chalices engraved with decorations reflecting Christian iconography (refectory area): a chalice with a high narrow base adorned with Maltese crosses; the second chalice has incised decorations (a bird, the legs of a second bird, and a partially preserved fish). Two rectangular stone basins; grinding stones (probably connected with flour production). Ball-shaped weights; stone mugs (dated to the Second Temple period); Storage jar stoppers. Two lower hand millstones; another millstone (1.25 m diameter – “donkey mill”) and a fragment of an upper millstone of the same type.
Coins
51 coins were found representing the different occupation periods of the site.
Glass
Glass vessels dated to the sixth century CE
Other
Roof tiles were found in most of the rooms as well as ceramic tiles that lined the oven’s interior walls.
Metal objects
Fragments of a candelabrum and candlesticks retrieved from the rubble in the chapel area.
Other
Small artifacts in stone, bone and ivory.
Small finds illustrative material: 
Detailed description
Dimensions: 
Total area (sqm)Size class
1,530
Medium
Structure
Materials applied (walls): 
Limestone
Materials applied (roofing): 
tiles
Components
Enclosing wall
Gate/s: 
1
Tower/s
Courtyard/s
Monastery church: 
Church typeDiakonikonLink to church sectionChurch location
unknown
Upper floor
Refectory
Dwelling type: 
cells
Number of stories: 
2
Kitchen
Baking oven
Stable
Agricultural installations: 
wine press\es [=w/p]
Water installations: 
Cisterns
0
Inscribed crosses
Architectural evolution
Phase name (as published): 
Phase III
General outline: 
In this phase, a fortified Late Roman complex was converted into a monastery. Rooms were added and the height of the tower was raised by adding new courses to the outer walls. Some other structural changes were made in the tower. A church and refectory were constructed on the second story. The main entrance was apparently moved from the eastern side of the complex to its western side.
Dating material: 

Sometime in the sixth century CE, based on the pottery assemblage and other finds.

Phase date
Century: 
6th c.
Post Arab conquest history: 
Still in use
Post conquest history comments: 
In the Early Islamic period the monastery was abandoned. It was re-occupied by a non-Christian population, probably after 749 CE. Some modifications were made to the structures that were in use. A few shards and two coins testify to a short period of use during the Mamluk period.