Ramat Raḥel; Ramat Rachel - Monastery

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Monastery name, type, category

Site Name:

Ramat Raḥel; Ramat Rachel

Identification:

The site was originally identified by the excavators as the church of the Kathisma. This was refuted when the octagonal Kathisma church was discovered on the road connecting Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The complex at Ramat Rachel, therefore, goes unidentified.

Monastery name:

Monastery

Monastery type:

Cenobium

Monastery category:

Village

Former fortress

Former ruin

Location

Coordinates, ITM system:

22,050.00

62,748.00

Coordinates, ICS system:

17,050.00

12,748.00

Geographical region:

Judean Hills

Provincial affiliation:

Palaestina I

Bishopric:

Jerusalem

Topographical location:

Slope of a hill (Tell)

Distance from nearest bishop-seat:

4 (Jerusalem)

Distance from nearest settlement:

4 (Jerusalem)

Distance from Roman roads:

1 km east of the road between Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

Source of knowledge

Archaeological remains

Surveyed site

Surveyors:

Name	Date
Conder and Kitchener	1871-1877

Excavated site

Excavators:

Name	Date
Aharoni	1954
Lipschits et al.	2009

Bibliograpy:

Conder, C. R. and Kitchener, H. H., 1883	104
Aharoni, Y., 1955	152-57
Perrot, J., Dothan, M. and Abaroni, Y., 1955	127
Testini, P., 1962	73-92
Aharoni, Y. and et al.,, 1962
Ovadiah, A., 1970	152-53
Ovadiah, R. and Ovadiah, A., 1987	119
Tsafrir, Y., Di Segni, L. and Green, J., 1994	212
Kloner, A., 2000	145
Solimany, G. and Barzel, V., 2008
Lipschits, O., Oeming, M., Gadot, Y. and Arubas, B., 2009	1-20
Magen, Y. and Kagan, E. D., 2012	89-91

Abbreviation for Journals and Series

State of certainty:

Archaeologicaly definitive

General description

State of preservation/which parts were uncovered:

The site was excavated intermittently from the 1950's. A Byzantine period basilica and monastery were excavated in 1957 on the northeastern slope of the tel. Most of the excavation concentrated on the church but auxiliary structures forming the monastery were uncovered.

Illustrative material:

Illustrative_material

Photos

Ramat Rachel- the complex after excavation (Magen and Kagan 2012 II: 89, Fig. 213.2)

Ramat Rachel- the complex viewed from the southwest (Magen and Kagan 2012 II: 89, Fig. 213.3)

Figures

Ramat Rachel- general plan of the complex (Magen and Kagan 2012 II: 89, Fig. 213.1)

General description

Courtyards:

A courtyard adjacent to the church was surrounded by rows of rooms.

Churche/s:

The church (22.3 x 15 m) was built of stones in secondary use and decorated with a mosaic pavement featuring geometric designs. The church had a polygonal external apse which did not survive. A narthex existed on the western side of the church. Sections of a mosaic pavement survived in the southern and western areas.

Dwellings:

Rows of rooms surrounded the courtyard, some of which probably served as dwellings for the resident monks. The rooms were separated from the southern wall of the church by a roofed passegeway.

Refectory:

A "corridor", paved with large flagstones, ran the length of the southern side of the church and a series of small rooms was accessed from it. This may have been the refectory. The proximity of the kitchen, located to its south, adds credence to this suggestion.

Bathhouse:

A bathhouse that had been in use since the Roman period (originally served the tenth legion stationed in the vicinity) was excavated south of the church.

Storage facilities:

A storage facility was found in the complex of rooms south of the church attested by the large number of broken storage vessels.

Kitchen:

A double cooking stove and a large oven (1.2 m diameter) were unearthed in the largest room located south of the corridor. This room was identified as a kitchen.

Baking oven:

In addition to those mentioned above (see Kitchen), an oven was found at the western end of the corridor.

Water installations:

A rock hewn cistern was discovered southwest of the church. Only its western part was excavated. The cistern is square, its western part measuring 2.5 m in width and about 5 m deep. The roof of the cistern rested on arches and the walls were coated with thick layers of plaster.

Small finds

Small finds:

Category	Description
Pottery	Most of the vessels date to the Byzantine period. A jar, dating to the seventh century CE had an Arab name inscribed on it.
Coins	Five coins: 3 Byzantine, 2 Umayyad.
Oil lamps	Lamps with Greek inscriptions

Detailed description

Dimensions:

Total area (sqm)	Size class
630	Small

Structure

Materials applied (walls):

Limestone

Components

Courtyard/s

Monastery church:

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

Refectory

Number of stories:

Bathhouse

Storage facilities – warehouses

Kitchen

Baking oven

Water installations:

Cisterns

Architectural evolution

Phase 1
Abandonment

General outline:

A basilical church with a row of rooms to the south.

Dating material:

Established in the fifth century, based on the pottery assemblage.

Phase date

Century:

5th c.

General outline:

The monastery continued to function for a short period of time during the Early Islamic period before being abandoned.

Dating material:

Based on an Arbic inscription on a pottery vessle.

Phase date

Century:

7th c.

Post Arab conquest history:

Ceased to function

Post conquest history comments:

No evidence of violent destruction of the monastery was found. After the monastery ceased to function sometime in the Early Islamic period, the site was in use in an unknown capacity. This is attested by the fragments of marble and architectural members in secondary use in a structure dating to the Early Islamic period.