Khirbet el-Kuṣeir - SOUSAKIM

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Source of knowledge
Archaeological remains
Surveyed site
Surveyors: 
NameDate
Conder and Kitchener
1871-1877
Marcoff and Chitty
1928
Blake
1969
Hirschfeld
1981
State of certainty: 
Archaeologically and Literarily definitive
Architectural evolution
General outline: 
The cave becomes a hermitage when Cyriacus settles in it.
Dating material: 

Cyriacus settled in 538 CE, based Cyril of Scythopolis (see Literary Sources).

Phase date
Century: 
6th c.
Within century: 
First half
General outline: 
A memorial chapel is constructed at the mouth of the cave.
Dating material: 

Byzantine period. The construction of the chapel is typical of martyria (Krautheimer 1965: 150). The existence of the dome and its sophisticated construction is supportive of the view that the chapel was built to commemorate St. Cyriacus, i.e. after the end of the saint’s life.

Phase date
Century: 
6th c.
Within century: 
Second half
Phase date
Century: 
7th c?
Post Arab conquest history: 
Abandoned