Mizpe Shivta; el Mishrefa - ST. GEORGE (?)

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Monastery name, type, category

Site Name:

Mizpe Shivta; el Mishrefa

Identification:

The site of Mizpe Shivta has been identified tentatively as a monastery and a pilgrims' hospice on the pilgrimage route to Mt. Sinai. This identification was put forth by Baumgarten (1986) who suggested identifying the site as the "Xenodochium of St. George" mentioned by the Piacenza pilgrim: “...which provides something of a refuge for passers-by and gives food for hermits” (Wilkinson 1977: 87). Baumgarten's identification is also based on the inscription “Oh Lord, the God of Saint George…” found in one of the partially rock hewn rooms, incised into a plastered arch-stone.

Monastery name:

ST. GEORGE (?)

Monastery type:

Laura

Monastery category:

Isolated in the countryside

Pilgrims

Location

Coordinates, ITM system:

162,650.00

536,552.00

Coordinates, ICS system:

112,646.00

1,036,550.00

Geographical region:

Central Negev

Provincial affiliation:

Palaestina III

Bishopric:

Elusa

Topographical location:

On a level hilltop.

Soils:

limestone

Distance from nearest bishop-seat:

ca. 22 km (Elusa)

Distance from nearest settlement:

ca. 5 km (Sobota-Shivta)

Distance from Roman roads:

ca. 11 km from the road connecting Gaza with the Negev and the Arava Valley.

Source of knowledge

HideLiterary sources

Text number	Summary
1	Mention of the guesthouse of St George on the way south of Elusa, from an itinerary of ca. AD 570.

HideEpigraphy

Text number	Summary
1	Dated dipinto with invocation of the Lord on behalf of Ouaelos, on the plaster in one of the rock-cut rooms, 577/8.
2	Grafitto with invocation of Saint George on behalf of various people, on the plaster in one of the rock-cut rooms.
3	Grafitto of Zenon, incised on the plaster in one of the rock-cut rooms.
4	Graffito with invocation of the Lord, on the right jamb of a window.

Archaeological remains

Surveyed site

Surveyors:

Name	Date
Palmer	1871
Musil	1901
Woolley and Lawrence	1914-1915
Wiegand	1920
Baumgarten	1979

Excavated site

Excavators:

Name	Date
Baumgarten	1979

Bibliograpy:

Palmer, E. H., 1871	31-32
Musil, A., 1908	II: 34
Woolley, C. L. and Lawrence, T. E., 1914-1915
Wiegand, T., 1920	64-66
Baumgarten, Y., 1982	46-47
Baumgarten, Y., 1986	97-108
Baumgarten, Y., 1993	1059-1061
Tsafrir, Y., Di Segni, L. and Green, J., 1994	188
Figueras, P., 1995	420-23
Schick, R., 1995	406
Figueras, P., 2007	509-26
Di Segni, L., 2016	185-98

Abbreviation for Journals and Series

State of certainty:

Archaeologicaly definitive

General description

State of preservation/which parts were uncovered:

The site was partially excavated by Baumgarten. The walls of the chapel stand to a height of a few courses as do some of the other structures.

Illustrative material:

Illustrative_material

Photos

Mizpe Shivta, view from the air and entrance to the crypt (Hirschfeld 2005, after Baumgarten 1986)

Figures

Mizpe Shivta - plan of the site (Hirschfeld 2004, after Baumgarten 1986)

General description

Enclosing walls:

The complex is surrounded by a wall with a gate on the west. From the gate, the wall continues along the southern and eastern slopes. On its east side the wall is thicker and resembles a glacis and in some places it serves as a retaining wall for a terrace. The wall incorporates large towers, especially in the northern and southern parts. The wall has retained a height, in some places, of two m. Judging by the quantity of debris it seems to have been double the height.

Gate/s:

The entrance to the complex was on the west where a wall stood with an arched gate and entranceway.

Courtyards:

The structure suggested by Wooley and Lawrence to have been a hostel contains a large courtyard with rooms on the western and northern sides.

Tower/s:

Large towers were built into the enclosing wall, especially in the northern and southern parts. The towers serve also to help in retaining the lower part of the enclosure. A tower on the hill itself apparently contained the cells of hermits.

Churche/s:

The chapel (18.20 x 6.60 m) is the eastern part of the open area. It consists of a simple prayer hall with an apse and a room (11.60 x 4.00 m.) annexed to its southern wall, apparently built later than the original building. The walls of the apse shows a higher quality of construction than the rest of the chapel and traces of white and colored plaster which indicate the existence of murals. The bema was paved in uneven stone slabs and the remains of a chancel screen are visible- in the north part a section of screen was found in situ. The annex on the southern side of the church was not excavated and its use is unknown.

Dwellings:

A number of natural and hewn caves were noted on the steep cliff sides of the hill, along with constructed buildings, some of which still retained the arches that held up the roof. Many of these were covered with rock debris from collapse, perhaps due to tectonic activity. Some of these apparently served as dwellings while others served for storage.

Storage facilities:

Some of the caves on the cliff face and some of the constructed rooms apparently served for storage.

Cave/s:

See above (dwellings, storage)

Hostelry:

A large rectangular structure (12.1 x 14.50 m) is located on the plateau of the hill. It consists of three rooms (4 x 5 m each) on the western side of a large courtyard and a fourth room on the northeastern side of the courtyard. Wooley and Lawrence (1914/15) reported that stone vaults held the roof, however, these vaults are no longer extant. They suggested that the structure was a guest house while Wiegand (1920) interpreted the structure as being the house of the commandant.

Water installations:

Three reservoirs were identified in the open space of the complex on the summit, to the west of the rectangular structure. These were of varying diameters (18 m., 9m., and 6 m.). Being located at the top of the hill, the water would have been collected from the rooftops and presumably there would have been a system of channels which collected the water. On the terraces below a series of bell-shaped cisterns were hewn at distances of 5-10 m from each other. A rectangular cistern (7 x 5 m) was hewn lower down and probably collected the overflow from the higher cisterns.

Small finds

Small finds:

Category
Inscription - see under epigraphy

Detailed description

Dimensions:

Total area (sqm)	Size class
28,800	Large

Structure

Materials applied (walls):

Limestone

Components

Enclosing wall

Gate/s:

Tower/s

Courtyard/s

Monastery church:

Church type	Diakonikon	Link to church section	Church location
single nave			Ground floor

Dwelling type:

cells

Number of stories:

Storage caves

Hostelry

Retaining walls

Water installations:

Cisterns

Painted plaster

Architectural evolution

Phase 1
Abandonment

General outline:

The complex consists of a walled compound on an elevated plateau. The open area at the top of the site contained three structures: a chapel, a rectangular structure and a water collecting system. In the cliff face, caves served as dwellings and storage space.

Dating material:

Dated generally to the sixth century CE. No phasing was reported.

Phase date

Century:

6th c.

General outline:

Although Christian settlement in the area continued into the Early Islamic period, it is not certain that the monastery continued to function.

Dating material:

The finds at Mizpe Shivta were dated to the Byzantine period, no finds from later periods were reported.

Phase date

Century:

7th c.

Within century:

First half

Iconoclastic evidence

Iconoclastic evidence:

Post Arab conquest history:

Abandoned

Post conquest history comments:

If indeed Baumgarten's identification of the site is correct and the monastery's main function was to provide pilgrims' services, its abandonment following the Arab conquest is in keeping with the steep decline in the number of pilgrims travelling to the Holy Land.