Kursi-Gerasa; Chorsia-Gergesa - Monastery

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Monastery name, type, category

Site Name:

Kursi-Gerasa; Chorsia-Gergesa

Identification:

The monastery uncovered at Kursi was identified as commemorating the "Miracle of the Swine" as described in the New Testament (Matt. 8, 28-34; Mark 5, 1-20; Luke 8, 26-39). The identification is mentioned by Origen in the third century (Commementaria in Joannem, 6.22).The small chapel located on the upper reaches of the monastery marks the location of the miracle. The large complex consisted of a large basilica, a monastery, a pilgrims' hospice with a bathhouse and other installations. It was probably named for the miracle it commemorated.

Monastery name:

Monastery

Monastery type:

Cenobium

Monastery category:

Isolated in the countryside

Pilgrims

Source of sacredness:

New Testament site

Location

Coordinates, ITM system:

261,182.00

748,056.00

Coordinates, ICS system:

211,179.00

248,056.00

Geographical region:

Sea of Galilee

Provincial affiliation:

Palaestina II

Bishopric:

Hippos

Topographical location:

Level ground on the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Soils:

Basalt

Distance from nearest bishop-seat:

ca. 6 km (Hippos-Susita)

Distance from nearest settlement:

ca. o.5 km (un-named village on the shores of Lake Kinnereth)

Distance from Roman roads:

ca. 0.2 km east of the road that follows the eastern shore of the lake.

Source of knowledge

Epigraphy

Archaeological remains

Excavated site

Excavators:

Name	Date
Tzaferis	1970-1973
Tzaferis	2001-2004

History:

The monastery was founded sometime in the late fifth or early sixth century. It was a large complex which catered to a growing number of pilgrims, although it is not mentioned in the literary sources. Within the wall of the complex there was a large guest-house and a bathhouse. A commemorative chapel within a tower was constructed on a steep rock, southeast of the main complex. In the late sixth century some modifications were made, including the closing of three of the original four gates. The monastery was damaged during the Persian invasion but continued to function into the Early Islamic period. The pilgrims' facilities - the hostel and the bathhouse are dated to the end of the 6th c. or to the 2nd quarter of the 7th c. The mosaic pavements of the basilica show signs of iconoclasm and mending. The site was abandoned in the late seventh or early eighth century, after massive earthquake damage. The site was discovered accidentally in 1969, when following the 1967 Six Day War a road was constructed on the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Excavations took place between 1970-1973 and again in 2001-2004.

Bibliograpy:

Bagatti, B., 1971	76-79
Tzaferis, V., 1972	176-77
Tzaferis, V., 1983
Tzaferis, V., 1989	44-51
Tzaferis, V., 1993	77-79
Schick, R., 1995	373-74
Gregg, R. C. and Urman, D., 1996
Goldfus, H., 1997	206-11
Gregg, R. C., 2000	519-57
Sudilovsky, J., 2003	18
Patrich, J., 2006	341-93
Tzaferis, V., 2014	175-97

Abbreviation for Journals and Series

State of certainty:

Archaeologicaly definitive

General description

State of preservation/which parts were uncovered:

The site was in a good state of preservation with walls remaining to a height of several courses, many architectural elements remaining and mosaics preserved in the aisles of the church.

Illustrative material:

Illustrative_material

Photos

Kursi-Gergesa- general plan of the monastery (Tzaferis 1983: 3, plan 2)

Kursi-Gergesa- plan of the gate area and hospice (Tzaferis 1983: 19, plan 6)

Kursi, general plan of mon. Tzaferis, Atiqot 2014

Kursi, reconstruction of bathhouse. Tzaferis, Atiqot 2014

Kursi, plan of bathhouse. Tzaferis, Atiqot 2014

Kursi, tombs east of apse. Tzaferis, Atiqot 2014

General description

Paths:

An 8 m wide street led from the main entrance to the courtyard in front of the church. The street is paved with dressed basalt. A second street, 2 m wide was excavated in the residential area in the northern part of the compound. The monastery is situated near the main road that follows the eastern shore of the lake, it is safe to assume that a path connected the monastery with the road.

Enclosing walls:

The monastery complex (140 x 120 m) was surrounded by well-preserved plastered walls built of basalt. In parts the walls remained to a height of over

2 m.

Gate/s:

In the early phases (late 5th to early 7th) there were entrances on all four sides of the compound. In the later phase, after 614, only one entrance remained on the western side.

The main entrance was sealed with a double door attested by sockets on both sides of threshold. The gateway was constructed of well dressed basalt and doorposts were found standing to a height of 2 m.

Courtyards:

An atrium is located west of the church. Remains of benches were found on the western side of the courtyard. The paving was of basalt.

Tower/s:

A tower was constructed over the hospice in the second phase, near the western gate, in the second phase. The nature of the changes point to a defensive role perhaps a guardhouse or tower. The changes may reflect the advent of the Persian invasion.

Churche/s:

The church was a large basilica (45 x 25 m) with a deep inscribed apse and two pastophoria, paved in polychrome mosaics. A second chapel, a small memorial to the Miracle of the Swine (Matt. 8, 28-34; Mark 5, 1-18; Luke 8, 26-37), was constructed on the steep slope south of the monastery precinct.

Dwellings:

The residential quarters of the monastery were located in the northern part of the enclosure. The excavated area revealed two structures separated by a street. One of the structures (15.5 x 14 m) incorporated the northern enclosure wall. It was entered from the street to its south. The walls are undressed stone plastered on both faces. Floors are beaten earth and plaster.

Bathhouse:

A bathhouse was excavated in the residential area north of the church.

Burials:

A crypt beneath the church contained the remains of 30 adult males and one child. This was apparently the burial place of the leaders of the monastery. The crypt is located beneath the southern wing of the church, accessed from the west by a flight of stairs and was sealed by means of a basalt slab. Six troughs were constructed along the walls and small crosses incised in the walls above.

A complex of tombs were found immediately to the east of the church. Three of them were excavated. It was suggested that victims of the the 614 CE Persian invasion was interred there, among them women and children.

Hostelry:

A large hospice was excavated not far of the western entrance to the compound, to its north. The part excavated was 10 m long, consisting of two large halls. The building was of fine construction, the walls covered with thick plaster. The identification of the structure as a hospice was based on its location not far of the main gate. A street separates it from the gatehouse, located to its south.

The structure was renovated in the second phase (Period II), the rooms were reduced in size and a staircase was built against the eastern end.

Water installations:

A cistern was found beneath the atrium.

Agricultural and industrial installations:

An oil press was found in the rooms adjacent to the church.

Small finds

Small finds:

Category	Description
Inscription - see under epigraphy
Metal objects	Fragments of buckles in burials; a broken metal cross; iron nails; lead bars; bronze door hinges; bronze crosses fixed to some of the column shafts; bronze rings; bracelets; bronze pendant; metal tools: pruning hook, two iron sickles and a long socketed dagger, small iron disk on legs possibly a lamp stand, iron rods, five iron rings, two portraying busts.
Oil lamps	in burial
Bones	Remains of 30 adult males and one child in a jar.
Coins
Glass	Decorated glass vessels.
Pottery	Platters, bowls, kraters, cooking pots, storage jars, amphorae and jugs, lamps all dated to 6t-7th c. Fragments of pottery with parallels at Khirbet el Mefjer, 8th c.

Detailed description

Dimensions:

Total area (sqm)	Size class
16,000	Large

Structure

Materials applied (walls):

Basalt

Materials applied (roofing):

tiles

timber

Components

Enclosing wall

Gate/s:

Tower/s

Courtyard/s

Monastery church:

Church type	Diakonikon	Link to church section	Church location
basilical	Diakonikon	Kursi-Gerasa; Chorsia-Gergesa - Church	Ground floor
single nave			Ground floor

Baptismal font

Number of stories:

Bathhouse

Hostelry

Tombs type:

Burial chamber

Built paths

Agricultural installations:

oil press\es [=o/p]

Water installations:

Cisterns

Channels

Inscribed crosses

Architectural evolution

Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3
Abandonment

General outline:

The monastery was founded in the late fifth or early sixth century. The basilica was constructed in the first phase. The complex was surrounded by a wall and other structures were built.

Phase date

Century:

5th c.

Within century:

Late

General outline:

Several alterations were made in the basilica, according to the excavator, due to changing liturgical practices. Coins in the hostel date its construction to the late 6th, or early 7th c.

Dating material:

Coins in the hostel date its construction to the late 6th, or early 7th c.

Phase date

Century:

6th c.

Within century:

Second half

General outline:

The complex was severely damaged in the Persian invasion. some of the auxiliary rooms of the church and its chapels were closed off, others converted to domestic or industrial use. The residential quarters were clustered around the church and the former residential areas were left unrepaired and unused. Three gates (north, east and south) were blocked. But in his later article (2014, 184), he dates the bathhouse to after the Persian invasion and the Arab conquest, and the hostelry might have been built contemporarily, or sometime earlier.

Phase date

Century:

7th c.

Within century:

First half

Iconoclastic evidence

Iconoclastic evidence:

Yes

General outline:

After the Arab conquest the monastery continued to function until destroyed by earthquake, probably in 749 CE, after which it was abandoned.

Dating material:

The bird figures in the mosaic pavement of the church were carefully removed and the cavities left behind were mended. Some bird figures remained complete,these had been covered by fallen columns which had not been removed even though the church was apparently still in use.

Phase date

Century:

8th c.

Within century:

Mid

Iconoclastic evidence

Iconoclastic evidence:

Yes

Post Arab conquest history:

Still in use

Post conquest history comments:

After the monastery was abandoned in the mid-eighth century it was settled by nomads for a short while before being completely abandoned.