Qasr el Yahud; St. John the Baptist - ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST; PRODROMOS

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Monastery name, type, category

Site Name:

Qasr el Yahud; St. John the Baptist

Identification:

Located on a small rise about 800 m from the banks of the Jordan River is identified as the location of the monastery of St. John the Baptist which attracted pilgrims as the site of the baptism of Jesus by St. John the Baptist (Matt. 3, 13-17; Mark 1, 9-11; Luke 3, 21-22). The monastery is mentioned in several sources (Theod., TS, 20; Proc. Buildings, V, IX; AP, 12; Adamn., LS, II, XVI; Epiph. Mon. Hag., Enarr. Syriae; Stephano, Acta XX Mart. Sab., 62, 85).

Monastery name:

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST; PRODROMOS

Monastery type:

Cenobium

Monastery category:

Desert

Pilgrims

Source of sacredness:

New Testament site

Location

Coordinates, ITM system:

25,110.00

63,842.00

Coordinates, ICS system:

20,110.00

13,842.00

Geographical region:

Southern Jordan Valley

Provincial affiliation:

Palaestina I

Bishopric:

Regio Jericho

Topographical location:

Level ground

Soils:

Marl

Distance from nearest bishop-seat:

9 km (Jericho)

Distance from nearest settlement:

9 km (Jericho)

Distance from Roman roads:

ca. 9 km east of the Jordan Valley road.

Source of knowledge

HideLiterary sources

Text number	Summary
1	Description of the church built on stilts by Emperor Anastasius, and of the monks residing in it, from an itinerary of ca. AD 518-530.
2	Mention of a well in the monastery built by Emperor Justinian, from a panegyric of AD 550s.
3	Description of a monastery with two hostels is near a hermitage of seven virgins, from an itinerary of ca. AD 570.
4	Description of the church and monastery, from an itinerary of ca. AD 681-684, composed ca. 698.
5	Description of the church and monastery, largely based on Adamnan, from a geographical work compiled AD 702-703.
6	Stephen and other monks sleep by the Jordan near the monastery and Stephen walks on the water, from a late 8th cent. life written by his disciple.
7	Stephen's prayer miraculously open the church of the monastery.
8	Mention of the monastery and church of St John on the Jordan, from an official report ordered in AD 808.

Archaeological remains

Surveyed site

Surveyors:

Name	Date
Guérin	1874-75
Conder and Kitchener	1871-77
Meinardus	1965-66
Bar-Adon	1967-68

Bibliograpy:

Guérin, V., 1874-1875	I: 111-16
Marti, K., 1880	15
Conder, C. R. and Kitchener, H. H., 1883	217-19
Lagrange, M. J., 1892	439-56
Clermont-Ganneau, C., 1896-1899
Federlin, L., 1903	372-75
Augustinović, A., 1951	110-11
Baldi, D., 1963	263
Meinardus, O., 1965-1966	330-32
Bar-Adon, P., 1972	116
Ovadiah, A. and De Silva, C. G., 1981	249
Hirschfeld, Y., 1990	35-36
Tsafrir, Y., Di Segni, L. and Green, J., 1994	152
Schick, R., 1995
Sion, O., 1996	245-64
Magen, Y. and Kagan, E. D., 2012	287-288

Abbreviation for Journals and Series

State of certainty:

Archaeologically and Literarily definitive

General description

State of preservation/which parts were uncovered:

The site was rebuilt in the modern era. Early surveys reported remains of a monastery encompassed by a wall, a church built over a vaulted chapel, remains of a large reservoir and of an aqueduct.

Illustrative material:

Illustrative_material

Photos

Figures

Qasr el Yahud- general plan of the church (Magen and Kagan 2012 I: 287, 148.2).

General description

Enclosing walls:

Remains of an encompassing wall were observed in the surveys, no measurements were provided.

Gate/s:

Remains of the gate were found, their details were not reported.

Tower/s:

Augustinović reported two towers, one in the southwestern corner, the other in the southeastern corner. Rooms inside the towers showed evidence of vaults. It is not clear if the reference is to the corners of the church or the corners of the monastery complex. Dating is unclear.

Churche/s:

Remains of a church were discerned in the surveys. The church had been built on vaults and beneath it a small chapel, identified by Ovadiah and de Silva as a crypt (Ovadiah and de Silva 1981: 249, no. 63).

Water installations:

A large reservoir was identified by Guérin in the western part of the site. The reservoir was estimated at 10 m depth, its roof supported on pillars and arches.The reservoir was fed by an aqueduct originating at 'Ein el-Sultan in Jericho.

Small finds

Detailed description

Components

Enclosing wall

Monastery church:

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

Number of stories:

Hostelry

Water installations:

Cisterns

Aqueduct

Architectural evolution

Phase 1
Phase 2
Abandonment

General outline:

The monastery was founded around 500 CE.

Dating material:

Literary- according to the pilgrim Theodosius, the monastery was founded by the Emperor anastasius (491-518 CE).

Phase date

Century:

6th c.

Within century:

Early

General outline:

The monastery suffered damage in the earthquake of 659 CE and was rebuilt.

Phase date

Century:

7th c.

Within century:

Second half

General outline:

The monastery continued to function into the early middle ages.

Dating material:

Literary

Phase date

Century:

Other

Post Arab conquest history:

Built anew

Post conquest history comments:

The monastery was still functioning in the second half of the seventh century as reported by the pilgrim Adamnan (Arculf’s Narrative about the Holy Places, PPTS, III, 10). By the middle ages, the monastery was no longer functioning and was in ruins, apparently as a result of an earthquake (The pilgrimage of the Russian Abbot Daniel in the Holy Land PPTS IV, 27).