Magdala - Monastery

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Monastery name, type, category

Site Name:

Magdala

Monastery name:

Monastery

Monastery type:

Cenobium

Monastery category:

Urban

Source of sacredness:

New Testament site

Location

Coordinates, ITM system:

248,388.00

748,008.00

Coordinates, ICS system:

198,388.00

248,008.00

Geographical region:

Sea of Galilee

Provincial affiliation:

Palaestina II

Bishopric:

Taberias

Topographical location:

Level ground

Soils:

Aluvial and liminal

Distance from nearest bishop-seat:

5 km

Distance from Roman roads:

0.5 km

Source of knowledge

HideLiterary sources

Text number	Summary
1	Mention of Magdala, birthplace of Mary Magdalene, from an itinerary of ca. AD 518-530.
2	Mention of a church at Magdala in the house of Mary Magdalene, from an 8th cent. guidebook for pilgrims.

Archaeological remains

Excavated site

Excavators:

Name	Date
Corbo and Loffreda	1971-1973
Abu-Uqsa	1991; 1992
De Luca	2006-2012

Bibliograpy:

Corbo, V. C., 1974	5-37
Abu-'Uqsa, H., 2001	9-25 (English summary 321-22)
De Luca, S., 2010-2011	22-23
Aviam, M. and Ashkenazi, J., 2014	559-73
De Luca, S. and Leibner, U., 2019

Abbreviation for Journals and Series

State of certainty:

Archaeologicaly definitive

General description

State of preservation/which parts were uncovered:

The site was in a poor state of preservation at the time of excavation. The northern part of the the complex was excavated, revealing a large courtyard and rooms to its north. The mosaic pavements had been badly damaged by bulldozers that had razed down the village that stood at the site.

Illustrative material:

Illustrative_material

Figures

Magdala- plan of the monastery (Corbo 1974)

General description

Enclosing walls:

A long wall on the eastern side measured at least 60 m survived and apparently continued further to the south.

Gate/s:

The main entrance to the complex was on its eastern side. The gateway was partially preserved with part of a threshold remaining.

Courtyards:

A large courtyard was reached beyond the gate. The courtyard measured ca.19 x 19 m, tapering slightly towards the north.

Churche/s:

A church structure was not found. Reinforcement of the east wall of a room south of the courtyard suggests that an apse had been constructed there. However remains of the apse were not identified. Chancel screen posts attest the presence of a church. The pavement had completely disappeared. According to Corbo (1962: 10), the structure gave the impression of being a tri-apsidal basilica, he did not provide any reasoning for this observation.

Dwellings:

A cluster of relatively small rooms were located in the northwestern part of the complex. These may have been the cells of resident monks.

Refectory:

A large hall (8 x 6,45 m) was unearthed on the western side of the complex of rooms north of the courtyard. The hall was paved in a mosaic pavement, containing a geometric pattern, in a poor state of preservation.

Latrine/s:

A latrine was located in the north of the complex of rooms. a plastered drainage channel led from the room, through the wall, out of the monastery.

Small finds

Detailed description

Dimensions:

Total area (sqm)	Size class
1,800	Medium

Structure

Materials applied (walls):

Basalt

Materials applied (roofing):

tiles

Components

Enclosing wall

Gate/s:

Courtyard/s

Monastery church:

Church type	Diakonikon	Link to church section	Church location
unknown			Ground floor

Refectory

Dwelling type:

cells

Latrines

Architectural evolution

Phase 1
Abandonment

Phase date

Century:

Early Christian / Byzantine

Phase date

Century:

Unknown