al-ʻAraj; Bethsaida - Church

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Church Name, type, function

Site Name:

al-ʻAraj; Bethsaida

Identification:

According to Aviam, Bethsaida-Julias should be located here. A church on the house of the apostles Andrew, Peter and Philip is mentioned there in the early 8th c. by bishop Willibald of Eichstätt in Bavaria. A Greek inscription found in the northern pastophorium (identified in the inscription as a diakonikon), mentions "the holders of the keys for heaven". The reference is to St. Peter. In the SE corner of the room, against the apse, a baptismal font was installed.

Church name:

Church

Dedication:

House of the apostles Andrew, Peter and Philip.

Functional Type:

Parochial

Church type:

Basilical

Location

Coordinates, ITM system:

2,082,245.00

1,255,539.00

Coordinates, ICS system:

258,248.00

755,531.00

Location:

Village/Town

Geographical region:

Golan Heights

Topographical location:

On the shore of the Sea of Galilee, to the east of the Jordan River, near the Othoman House of the Beck.

Distance from Roman roads:

Ca. 1km to the south of the road ascending to the Golan Heights.

Provincial affiliation:

Palaestina II

Bishopric:

Sussita

Source of knowledge

Archaeological remains

Excavated site

Excavators:

Name	Date
Aviam and Notley	2016–2023

Bibliograpy:

Aviam, M. and Notley, R.S., 2021

Notley, R.S., 2023

Di Segni, L., Ashkenazi, J., Aviam, M. and Notley, R.S., 2023

Abbreviation for Journals and Series

General description

State of preservation/which parts were uncovered:

A mono-apsidal basilical church with a dead-end aisle on the south and a rectangular room at the eastern end of the northern aisle, labeled diakonikon in the Greek inscription set in a medallion uncovered in it. Several dispersed architectural members include a screen post, a fragment of a marble screen plate decorated with a wreath. Gilded tesserae suggest the existence of wall mosaics and a limestone fragment of a decorative table with a cross and a floral decoration. The estimated dimensions of the church are 20x30m. Rooms exposed near the church are attributed to a monastery or a xenodochion / hostelry.

Description

Illustrative material:

Illustrative_material

Photos

Figures

el-Araj, plan, LA 73 (2023), p. 142, Fig. 2.

Small finds

Detailed description

Structure

Pastophoria

Pastophoria loci:

N & S

Description and function of northern:

A rectangular room. A plastered, rectangular baptismal font was installed in the SE corner of the room, against the apse, in the late 6th or early 7th c., according to the epigraphy, and paleography of the intact Greek mosaic inscription, in a medallion, found in the center of the room. This baptistery is labelled diakonikon in the inscription.

Description and function of southern:

unknown

Baptism

Loci:

A plastered, rectangular baptismal font was installed in the northern pastophorium, referred to as diakonikon in the mosaic Greekinscription. The font is surrounded by white tesserae.

Font structure:

Masonry built

External shape:

rectangular

Internal shape:

rectangular

Ben-Pechat type:

Architectural Evolution

Phase 1
Phase 2
Abandonment

Dating material:

The pottery and coins discovered under the floors in various parts of the complex, including the church, indicate that it was most likely erected in the 5th century, or in the early 6th at the latest.

Phase date

Century:

5th-6th c.

General outline:

The Greek inscription uncovered in the rectangular room at the eastern end of the northern aisle (dedicating the mosaic pavement of the diakonikon, thus it is labelled in the inscription), that contained a baptismal font, is dated to the end of the 6th - early 7th c.

Dating material:

Paleographical and epigraphical considerations.

Phase date

Century:

6th-7th c.

Phase date

Century:

8th c.