Khirbet el-Qasr; el Qasr - Monastery

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Monastery name, type, category

Site Name:

Khirbet el-Qasr; el Qasr

Monastery name:

Monastery

Monastery type:

Cenobium

Monastery category:

Isolated in the countryside

Former fortress

Location

Coordinates, ITM system:

21,786.00

60,010.00

Coordinates, ICS system:

16,786.00

10,010.00

Geographical region:

Hebron Hills

Provincial affiliation:

Palaestina I

Bishopric:

Eleutheropolis

Topographical location:

On a hill about three km southeast of the village of Bani Na'im.

Distance from nearest bishop-seat:

ca. 30 km (Bet Guvrin-Eleutheropolis)

Distance from nearest settlement:

3 km (Aristobulia)

Distance from Roman roads:

ca. 5 km east of the road leading south from Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

Source of knowledge

Epigraphy

Archaeological remains

Surveyed site

Surveyors:

Name	Date
Kloner and Hirschfeld	1989

Excavated site

Excavators:

Name	Date
Magen, Har-Even, Sharukh and Aronshtam	1999-2000

Bibliograpy:

Kloner, A. and Hirschfeld, Y. , 1987	132-41
Hirschfeld, Y., 1990	67-68
Hirschfeld, Y., 1992	52-54
Batz, S., 2006
Magen, Y., 2008	177-216
Magen, Y., Har-Even, B. and Sharukh, I., 2012	247-98
Magen, Y. and Kagan, E. D., 2012	224-26
Di Segni, L., 2012	299-302

Abbreviation for Journals and Series

State of certainty:

Archaeologicaly definitive

General description

State of preservation/which parts were uncovered:

An extensive excavation revealed a complex in which five construction phases were discerned. Some of the walls were preserved to an impressive height. The walls of the eastern wing are preserved to a height of 1- 1.5 m. The coarse white mosaic floors have been almost entirely preserved.

Illustrative material:

Illustrative_material

Figures

Khirbet el Qasr- plan of the site (Magen and Kagan 2012 II: 225, no. 308)

Kh. el-Qasr mon (Magen,et al 2012: 251 fig. 4)

General description

Enclosing walls:

The complex is enclosed in a wall measuring ca. 35 x 32 m and enclosing an area of approximately 1,120 m².

Gate/s:

A wing, built south of the tower, next to the southwestern wall of the eastern wing, served as the entrance to the monastery. The entrance was constructed of two monolithic doorposts. Parts of an arch, bearing an inscription (see below) were found in the debris.

Courtyards:

The rooms of the eastern wing, including the chapel, are arranged around a courtyard. The courtyard ( 10 x 8.5 m) is paved in a coarse white mosaic and embellished with a simple pattern. In the center there is a colorful square carpet in a poor state of preservation. A second courtyard, measuring 8.6 x 6.3 m, formed part of the northern wing, identified as the service wing of the monastery. Another courtyard is located in front of the threshold, outside the northern wing. The courtyard has a plastered floor and a drainage system to collect rainwater from the roof.

Tower/s:

The Late Roman tower (10.7 x 10.7 m) is constructed of large, smooth and well-fitting fieldstones. The walls were strengthened with a glacis, built of well-dressed stones, and plastered. The entrance is in its southeast and features a rolling stone fitted into a track set in the threshold. The tower was divided into rooms and had a second story, attested by a staircase in the west of the southern wing. Beneath the tower there is a cave with a constructed staircase leading down to it.

Churche/s:

The chapel (11.5 x 5.5 m, excluding the chancel and apse) is located in the eastern part of the complex. The chancel is raised and together with the internal apse measures 7.4 x 4 m. A portico, west of the church, served as a narthex. An additional entrance to the chapel was located in the northern wall. The prayer hall is paved in a white mosaic with a colorful carpet at its center, featuring a populated vine motif. Two benches were installed over the mosaic floor on either side of the chapel. The prayer hall of the chapel was paved in a mosaic that had two panels. The western panel had floral motifs and zoomorphic figures. The eastern panel contained a scale pattern with a bud in the center of each scale. A memorial inscription set in a tabula ansata was found near the entrance to the chapel.

Dwellings:

The rooms of the eastern wing are arranged around a courtyard. Some of these may have served as dwellings. The complex walls were coated with white plaster, sections remaining in most of the rooms. Some were decorated with colorful frescoes. Almost all the floors of this wing consisted of a coarse white mosaic, most of which is well preserved.

Refectory:

The long hall (11.6 x 4.2 m), of which only the eastern part was excavated, has a floor of irregular, smooth stone slabs. Three arches, 2.5 m apart supported the upper story. They rose to a height of some 2.8 m. A low bench was installed in the southern part of the hall. The proximity of the hall to the kitchen suggests that this was the refectory of the monastery.

Storage facilities:

The excavators suggest that the cave located beneath the tower may have served as the monastery’s pantry and a storage space for produce. The service wing is connected to a large cave that extends beneath the courtyard, it was probably used as a large storeroom.

Cave/s:

See above (storage facilities).

Kitchen:

The northern wing was constructed as a separate complex functioning as the service area of the monastery. It is divided into three units: a courtyard 8.6 x 6.3 m) that contained various cooking installations, a room in the south and a long hall that covers the entire length of the northern part of the wing. Two entrances access this wing, one of which leads to the eastern wing while the other leads out of the monastery precinct, via a staircase. An installation that has been interpreted as a work surface was found in this wing. A large square basin and remains of a water pipe which brought water to the basin, only half of which was preserved, were uncovered.

Baking oven:

In the northeastern corner of the courtyard a large round oven (internal diameter 2.20 m; external diameter 2.80 m) built of fired bricks on a stone foundation was uncovered.

Stable:

Beyond the entrance there is a hall, divided by a row of pillars. Some troughs in secondary use attest to the use of the hall as a stable at some later stage.

Water installations:

A clay drainage pipe was found on the foundations of the eastern wing. Channels under the mosaic pavement in some of the rooms also led water to the cisterns. A cistern was located under the portico. A channel fed water directly from the courtyard to a cistern in the central wing, this cistern existed in the previous phase. A miqweh of the Second Temple period was transformed into a cistern and the space was enlarged.

Small finds

Small finds:

Category	Description
Inscription - see under epigraphy
Stone vessels	Two fragments of white marble, flat serving bowls (high quality craftsmanship and polished surfaces). These bowls belong to a prominent type of serving vessels. Utilized in liturgical rites they have been found in sixth century contexts in many of the churches excavated in Israel; fragment of a large, white marble, round basin 15 cm in diameter and ca. 12 cm deep; an installation for decanting liquid, of local limestone, and consisting of two attached basins. A cross engraved in high relief attests to the installation’s liturgical use.
Coins	13 coins- most found in the service unit. Six were from the Umayyad period. The earliest coin is Hellenistic
Pottery	Bowls; FBW cup; krater; basins; casserole; cooking pots; lids; jars Gaza jar; amphorae
Oil lamps	Candlestick lamps; Samaritan lamps
Other	A large amount of roof tiles

Detailed description

Dimensions:

Total area (sqm)	Size class
1,120	Medium

Structure

Materials applied (walls):

Limestone

Materials applied (roofing):

tiles

Components

Enclosing wall

Gate/s:

Rolling stone:

at tower

Number of rolling stone:

Tower/s

Courtyard/s

Monastery church:

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

Refectory

Dwelling type:

cells

Number of stories:

Storage facilities – warehouses

Storage caves

Kitchen

Baking oven

Stable

Retaining walls

Water installations:

Cisterns

Channels

Gutters

Painted plaster

Inscribed crosses

Architectural evolution

Phase 1
Abandonment

Phase name (as published):

phase III

General outline:

In the Byzantine period a monastery was built around a Late Roman period tower making use of the pre-existing structures from the earlier phases. The monastery had four wings: a central wing consisting of the tower; an eastern wing, to the east of the tower consisting of a complex of rooms with an inner courtyard ; a southern wing, built south of the glacis, next to the southwestern wall of the eastern wing. This part served as the entrance to the monastery; a northern wing north of the tower, in the northwestern corner of the western wing. Some changes were made in the tower.

Dating material:

Established in the mid-fifth century CE, based on the inscription found in the chapel.

Phase date

Century:

5th c.

Within century:

Mid

General outline:

The monastery was abandoned sometime in the late seventh or early eighth century.

Dating material:

Based on numismatics and the lack of iconoclastic evidence.

Phase date

Century:

7th-8th c.

Iconoclastic evidence

Iconoclastic evidence:

Post Arab conquest history:

Ceased to function

Post conquest history comments:

An oil press was installed in the complex in the early Islamic period, after the monastery ceased to function.The site was occupied for short periods during the Mamluk period.