Deir Ḥajla - GERASIMUS

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Monastery name, type, category

Site Name:

Deir Ḥajla

Identification:

The site (some 350 m east of the present day Deir Ḥajla) was identified by Féderlin as the location of the composite monastery founded by Gerasimus ca. 455 CE. Remains of hermits' cells have been discovered in the marl cliff near Ein en Nukheil, to the east of Deir Hajla. These were probably the cells of the laura-part of the monastery. Others identified the core of the laura at the present day location of Deir Ḥajla.

Monastery name:

GERASIMUS

Monastery type:

Laura with a cenobium at its core

Monastery category:

Desert

Location

Coordinates, ITM system:

247,596.00

636,442.00

Coordinates, ICS system:

197,592.00

136,441.00

Geographical region:

Southern Jordan Valley

Provincial affiliation:

Palaestina I

Bishopric:

Regio Jericho

Topographical location:

Level ground

Soils:

Marl

Distance from nearest bishop-seat:

ca. 6 km (Jericho)

Distance from nearest settlement:

ca. 6 km (Jericho)

Distance from Roman roads:

ca. 6 km east of the Jordan valley road.

Source of knowledge

HideLiterary sources

Text number	Summary
1	Gerasimus founds a laura with a coenobium built in its middle; his institutions and his death, AD 475.
2	Cyriacus in Gerasimus’ monastery on the Jordan, AD 467-475.
3	Following the death of Abba Marcianus, AD 492, Eugenius, abbot of the laura of Gerasimus, is appointed second in command to Sabas.
4	Cyriacus in the kitchen of the monastery of Gerasimus and the death of Euthymius, AD 473.
5	Death of Gerasimus, AD 475, and list of his immediate successors.
6	Miracle of Hagiodoulos, the abbot of the laura, from an early 7th cent. collection of anecdotes.
7	Story of Gerasimus and the lion.
8	Symeon and his friend John arrive at the monastery of Gerasimus, from a mid. 7th cent. life of a 6th cent. monk.
9	Mention of the tomb of St Gerasimus east of Jericho, from an 8th cent. guidebook for pilgrims.
10	Mention of the monastery and tomb of St Gerasimus near Jericho, from an official report ordered in AD 808.

Archaeological remains

Surveyed site

Surveyors:

Name	Date
Conder and Kitchener	1871-1877
Guérin	1874-1875
Féderlin	1903
Schneider	1933
Augustinović	1950
Bar Adon	1967-1968
Hirschfeld	1987

History:

The monastery was founded by Gerasimus ca. 455 CE. This was of a type not found elsewhere in the area, consisting of a laura of scattered cells with a coenobium at its center where aspiring monks were trained. The monastery may have been abandoned in the Early Islamic period. A group of ten monks were settled there in the early ninth century. In the late nineteenth century, a Greek Orthodox monastery was established nearby. The builders of the modern monastery had apparently made use of the stones remaining at the site of the original core (Augustinović 1951).

Bibliograpy:

Guérin, V., 1874-1875	53-6
Conder, C. R. and Kitchener, H. H., 1883	178
Schneider, A. M., 1938	96-108
Augustinović, A., 1951	109-10
Bar-Adon, P., 1972	117
Wilkinson, J., 1977	157
Hirschfeld, Y., 1988/89	100-101
Hirschfeld, Y., 1990	18-9
Hirschfeld, Y., 1991	419-430
Hirschfeld, Y., 1992	28-9
Patrich, J., Arubas, B. and Agur, B., 1993	277-296
Tsafrir, Y., Di Segni, L. and Green, J., 1994	110
Schick, R., 1995
Patrich, J., Arubas, B. and Agur, B., 1999	143-67
Sharon, M., 2004	48-54
Di Segni, L., 2005	106
Magen, Y. and Kagan, E. D., 2012	202-3

Abbreviation for Journals and Series

Discussion:

The scant remains of the monasteries in the southern Jordan valley might be attributed to their construction. One of the most common construction materials, even up to the twentieth century was sun dried mudbrick, with foundations of stone. When not maintained over a long period of time, these bricks crumble to dust. The small mounds, described in the early surveys, probably consisted of the remains of these mudbrick structures

State of certainty:

Archaeologically and Literarily definitive

General description

State of preservation/which parts were uncovered:

Remains of the core and cells are located ca. 350 m east of the present day Monastery of Deir Ḥajla. The only remains found of the core consist of a small mound of building stones and a large number of tesserae. The remains of the cells consist of small mounds, some fieldstones and Byzantine potsherds. Cells carved into the marl have been regarded as belonging to the monastery, these have been fairly well preserved, exhibiting rooms, passages and windows.

Illustrative material:

Illustrative_material

Photos

Gerasimus- mosaic pavements (Malka 2012 I: 303, 158.2).

Figures

Gerasimus- cross section of the chapel in the hermitage at Wadi Nuheil (Magen and Kagan 2012 I: 302, no. 158.2).

Gerasimus- distribution of the cells (Survey map of Kalia, site 78)

Deir Hajla- plan of the cemetery (Peleg 2009: 182, image 3)

General description

Churche/s:

Remains of a rock hewn chapel were found in the vicinity (See churches section).

Dwellings:

Two types of dwelling cells were identified. Remains of constructed cells consist of small mounds, some fieldstones and Byzantine potsherds. Other cells were carved into the local marl in Wadi en-Nukhail. A complex of four caves and a chapel were carved into the southern cliff of the wadi, some 650 m northeast of the core.

Burials:

The monastery's cemetery was located some 700 m north of the core. An area of 500 m² was excavated but additional graves were noted some 30 m north of the excavated area, attesting to a larger size. The cemetery contained at least 65 graves. In the excavated area, 42 graves were noted of which 11 were excavated. The graves were on a single level, arranged in rows with an east-west orientation at varying distances from one another (1.10- 2.50 m) and 1.5-2.1 m between the rows. All the graves were simple pit graves for a single individual, 1.5- 2.2 m in length and an average width of 0.50 m. The bottom of the grave sloped from west to east, ledges to lay the cover stones were carved in the upper part of the margins. The interred were laid with heads in the west, in some were "pillows" with a depression for the head. In two graves, inscribed crosses were visible above the head. Bodies were laid on the back with hands folded over the pelvis. All were adult males between 20-60. All finds dated to 6th-8th c.

Cave/s:

see above (dwellings).

Small finds

Small finds:

Category	Description
Glass	Fragments.
Pottery	Fragments
Basketry
Other	Slivers of wood
Other	Fruit stones

Detailed description

Dimensions:

Total area (sqm)	Size class
380,000	Large

Structure

Materials applied (walls):

Brick

Components

Monastery church:

Church type	Diakonikon	Link to church section	Church location
cave

Dwelling type:

cells

Architectural evolution

Phase 1
Abandonment

General outline:

Founded by Gerasimus around 455 CE.

Dating material:

Literary (see Literary Sources).

Phase date

Century:

5th c.

Within century:

Mid

Dating material:

Literary

Phase date

Century:

Unknown

Post Arab conquest history:

Still in use

Post conquest history comments:

The monastery was active in the early ninth century. The commemoratorium de casis Dei mentions ten monks at the site. It is, however, not known when these monks settled at the site and whether the monastery had been abandoned at some earlier time and then resettled. Likewise, it is not known when this later group of monks abandoned the site.