Kefar Truman - Church

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Church Name, type, function

Site Name:

Kefar Truman

Identification:

Also known as Kh. er-Ras and Kh. 'Irma

Church name:

Church

Functional Type:

Monastic

Church type:

Basilical - Annex\es on N & S

Location

Coordinates, ITM system:

193.02

654.35

Coordinates, ICS system:

143.12

1,154.40

Location:

Rural

Geographical region:

Shephelah

Provincial affiliation:

Palaestina I

Bishopric:

Diospolis

Source of knowledge

HideEpigraphy

Text number	Summary
1	Mosaic building inscription within tabula ansata, in the nave in front of the altar.

Archaeological remains

Excavated site

Excavators:

Name	Date
Zvilichovski (Sussman), V.	1958

Bibliograpy:

Biran, A., 1959
Zvilichovsky, V., 1960
Yeivin, S., 1960
Ovadiah, A., 1970
Cohen, R , 1975	309
Bagatti, B., 1979
Ovadiah, A. and de Silva, C. G., 1982
Ovadiah, R. and Ovadiah, A., 1987
Tsafrir, Y., Di Segni, L. and Green, J., 1994
Gophna, R. and Beit-Arieh, I., 1997	63, Site 124
Madden, A. M., 2014	95, no. 129
Bagatti, B., 2002
Dayan, A. and Bollók. Á., 2021

Abbreviation for Journals and Series

General description

State of preservation/which parts were uncovered:

A basilica with a narthex, approx. 8.8 m. wide, 9.5 m long. The apse did not survive. Preserved just to its foundations and mosaic floors. Nearby a winepress and a cistern were exposed.

Description

Illustrative material:

Illustrative_material

Photos

Kfar Truman, general view from NE, from Dayan and Bollok 2021

Figures

Kfar Truman, plan. From Dayan and Bollok 2021

Narthex:

Paved with mosaics. A single entrance on the west.

Façade and entries:

The entrance were not preserved.

Lateral walls:

Mostly damaged, except the northern wall.

Nave:

9.5 m long, 4.3 m. wide. Mosaic paved with a Greek inscription in front of the bema, mentioning the renovation of the nave in the time of the priest and hegoumenos Eusepius. Hence - this was a monastic church. Epigraphically the inscription is dated by Di Segni to the third quarter of the 5th c.

Aisles:

9.5 m long, 1.7 M. wide each.

Bema, chancel screen and apse:

The church-head seems to have been quadrangular with flanking pastophoria, each of two rooms.

Lateral spaces:

Pastophoria at the east end of the aisles. One is 1.5X1.7 m. and the other 2.1X1.7 m.

Small finds

Small finds:

Category	Description
Pottery	Shards dated to the 6-10 century.
Coins	Four coins of Late Byzantine or Arab periods. One of Justinian; two of Mauricius dated to 599/600 and one - Arab-Byzantine, dated to 647-670.
Inscription - see under epigraphy	Set into the nave mosaic.
Metal objects	Nails

Detailed description

Structure

Narthex:

Yes

East end:

Internal apse

Church Head/Chevet:

monoapsidal with lockable pastophoria (mon-aps II)

Central Apse Category:

quadrangular

Altar remains:

imprints

Pastophoria

Pastophoria loci:

N & S

Attached structures

Annex/es on the north:

Two units, 11.5x3.65 m in dimensions. Only the foundations were preserved to below sill levels, hence no openings connecting the annex with the aisle can be recognized. On the west there is a third small unit with stone pavers. Added in Phase 2; perhaps contemporary with the renovation of the nave.

Annex/es on the south:

5.6 m wide and 18.5m long. It extends to the entire length of the basilica. To its west there is a stone paved courtyard. The sill is preserved in situ, indicating a 2.8m wide opening. Three pilasters divide the hall into two, lengthwise. Three corresponding pilasters are attached to the northern and southern walls. It was also added in Phase 2; perhaps contemporary with the renovation of the nave.

Prothesis chapel / Diakonikon:

Quadrangular chapel

Prothesis chapel / Diakonikon description:

The northern annex might have been a quadrangular prothesis, the eastern unit being its sanctuary.

Architectural Evolution

Phase 1
Phase 2
Abandonment

General outline:

See general description

Dating material:

Pottery and coins. According to epigraphical considerations, the church was renovated in the 3rd quarter of 5th c., hence its first construction can be set in the 5th c.

Phase date

Century:

5th c.

Subphases

Subphase A Date

5th c.

Second half

General outline:

The nave mosaic inscription speaks about the renovation of the nave. The two annexes are later additions; perhaps contemporary with the renovation of nave. The narthex mosaics were crudely repaired.

Dating material:

The coins and pottery indicate that it was in use during the Arab period and it is likely that the added chambers are from that period. (Ovadiah, 1970, 101-102)

Phase date

Century:

7th c.

Within century:

Second half

Dating material:

The latest coin is dated to the second half of the 7th c..

Phase date

Century:

7th c.

Within century:

Late

Post Arab conquest history:

Abandoned

Post conquest history comments:

Coins and pottery found in the church suggest that it was still in use in the very beginning of the Arab period. According to Ovadiah (1970, 101-102), the added chambers are from that period, but this is far from being certain.