Khirbet Juḥzum - MARCIANUS (?)

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Monastery name, type, category

Site Name:

Khirbet Juḥzum

Identification:

Corbo (1955: 156-163) suggested identifying the complex with the monastery of Marcianus. This identification was rejected by Hirschfeld and others based on the inconsistency of the location with that described by Cyril of Scythopolis. Vailhé suggested that the monastery of Marcianus should be identified with the remains found at Kh. Siyar el-Ghanam this identification was accepted by Hirschfeld (Vailhé 1900: 25-26; Hirschfeld 1990: 60-61, no. 54).

Monastery name:

MARCIANUS (?)

Monastery type:

Cenobium

Monastery category:

Isolated in the countryside

Location

Coordinates, ITM system:

22,600.00

62,358.00

Coordinates, ICS system:

17,600.00

12,358.00

Geographical region:

Judean Desert fringes

Provincial affiliation:

Palaestina I

Bishopric:

Jerusalem

Topographical location:

On a spur that slopes towards the east.

Distance from nearest bishop-seat:

ca. 11 km (Jerusalem)

Distance from nearest settlement:

ca. 6.5 km (Bethlehem)

Distance from Roman roads:

ca. 7 km east of the road passing by Bethlehem

Source of knowledge

Literary sources

HideEpigraphy

Text number	Summary
1	Invocation of the Lord on behalf of Theodulus on a funerary stele.

Archaeological remains

Excavated site

Excavators:

Name	Date
Corbo	1954

Bibliograpy:

Vailhé, S., 1900	25-26
Corbo, V. C., 1954	570-75
Corbo, V. C., 1955	156-63
Ovadiah, R. and Ovadiah, A., 1987	95-96
Hirschfeld, Y., 1990	60-61
Tsafrir, Y., Di Segni, L. and Green, J., 1994	158
Cohen, R., 1993	1069
Di Segni, L., 2005
Magen, Y. and Kagan, E. D., 2012	112

Abbreviation for Journals and Series

State of certainty:

Archaeologicaly definitive

General description

State of preservation/which parts were uncovered:

At the time of excavation, several structures and mosaic floors remained.

Illustrative material:

Illustrative_material

Figures

Kh. Juhzum - general plan of the siteKh. Juhzum - general plan of the site (Malka 2012 II: 112, no. 229)

General description

Enclosing walls:

ca. 22.5 x 20 m

Churche/s:

A large hall (20 x 6 m) was suggested by Corbo to have been a church. Two mosaic pavements superimposed on one another were found. The lower pavement was coarse while the upper one was finer and partially preserved.

Dwellings:

A dormitory was identified by Corbo, north of the church. Constructed and plastered beds were found, each measuring 1.70 m and 0.80 m wide, 0.45 m high above the mosaic pavement. A raised "pillow" was located on the eastern side.

Burials:

An inscribed tombstone was found near the entrance. The inscription named the artist Elias and the deceased Theodoulos. The back or the stone is carved with symbols of immortality (Corbo 1954:573).

Small finds

Small finds:

Category
Inscription - see under epigraphy

Detailed description

Dimensions:

Total area (sqm)	Size class
450	Small

Structure

Materials applied (walls):

Limestone

Components

Monastery church:

Church type	Diakonikon	Link to church section	Church location
unknown			Ground floor

Dwelling type:

dormitory

Architectural evolution

Phase 1
Abandonment

General outline:

The complex was dated by Corbo to the sixth century.

Phase date

Century:

6th c.

General outline:

Probably abandoned in the Early Islamic period.

Phase date

Century:

7th c?

Post Arab conquest history:

Abandoned