Beit Jimal - ST. STEPHEN

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Monastery name, type, category

Site Name:

Beit Jimal

Identification:

A tradition dating back to the Byzantine period ascribes the site to the burial place of the protomartyr St. Stephen, discovered in 415 CE (Di Segni 2006: 385). Although the name of the monastery that may have stood there is not known, it is safe to assume that it was named for the saint.

Monastery name:

ST. STEPHEN

Monastery type:

Cenobium

Monastery category:

Isolated in the countryside

Source of sacredness:

Sacred Objects

Location

Coordinates, ITM system:

19,750.00

62,590.00

Coordinates, ICS system:

14,750.00

12,590.00

Geographical region:

Shephelah

Provincial affiliation:

Palaestina I

Bishopric:

Eleutheropolis

Topographical location:

The site is located on a moderate slope of a hill.

Distance from nearest bishop-seat:

ca. 15 km (Beth Govrin-Eleutheropolis)

Distance from Roman roads:

ca. 6 km north of the road leading from Eleutheropolis to the Judean hills.

Source of knowledge

Epigraphy

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Surveyed site

Surveyors:

Name	Date
Guérin	1868-1869
Conder and Kitchener	1871-1877
Dagan	1991

Excavated site

Excavators:

Name	Date
Abel	1916-1917
Mallon	1919-1922
Strus and Gibson	2003

Bibliograpy:

Guérin, V., 1869	25-26
Conder, C. R. and Kitchener, H. H., 1883
Gisler, M., 1917	18-19
Abel, F. M., 1919	244-248
Mallon, A. , 1922	502-507
Abel, F. M., 1923	261-272
Ovadiah, A., 1970	28
Strus, A., 1988	13-16
Tsafrir, Y., Di Segni, L. and Green, J., 1994	98
Strus, A. and Gibson, S., 2005	29-89
Di Segni, L., 2007	381-401
Di Segni, L. and Gibson, S., 2007	117-145
Dagan, Y., 2010
Magen, Y. and Kagan, E. D., 2012	79-81
Dayan, A., 2015	161

Abbreviation for Journals and Series

State of certainty:

Uncertain / Questionable

General description

State of preservation/which parts were uncovered:

The southern part of the church was revealed in a poor state of preservation. South of the church, remains of structures were interpreted as remains of the monastery structures.

Illustrative material:

Illustrative_material

Photos

Figures

Beit Jimal-cxd plan of the church (Malka II: 79, no. 206)

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Churche/s:

A basilica (15 x 9 m) with an external apse. Remains of mosaic pavement in the in the southern aisle and the nave, where remains of an inscription were noted. A unit of two rooms is annexed to the south of the church, the eastern one providing entrance to the crypt.

Cave/s:

A small cave was found beneath the floor of the chapel in the southern aisle of the church. Six hewn steps lead down from the southern room into the cave which may have served as a crypt.

Water installations:

A large cistern is located beneath the floor of the nave.

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Detailed description

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Materials applied (walls):

Limestone

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Monastery church: