Khirbet Umm el-'Asafir - Monastery (?)

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Monastery name, type, category

Site Name:

Khirbet Umm el-'Asafir

Monastery name:

Monastery (?)

Monastery type:

Cenobium

Monastery category:

Former ruin

Location

Coordinates, ITM system:

22,125.00

62,495.00

Coordinates, ICS system:

17,125.00

12,495.00

Geographical region:

Judean Desert fringes

Provincial affiliation:

Palaestina I

Bishopric:

Jerusalem

Topographical location:

Hill

Distance from nearest bishop-seat:

ca. 8 km. (Jerusalem)

Distance from nearest settlement:

ca. 3 km (Bethlehem)

Distance from Roman roads:

ca. 2 km east of the road connecting Jerusalem with Bethlehem.

Source of knowledge

Archaeological remains

Surveyed site

Surveyors:

Name	Date
Conder and Kitchener	1871-1877
Corbo	1955
Kloner	2000

Excavated site

Excavators:

Name	Date
Batz	2003
Batz and Greenfeld	2009

Bibliograpy:

Conder, C. R. and Kitchener, H. H., 1883	127
Corbo, V. C., 1955
Kloner, A., 2000	154
Batz, S., 2003	123-45 (English summary 34*)
Batz, S. and Greenfeld, U., 2009	84-127 (English summary 10-12)
Magen, Y. and Kagan, E. D., 2012	97-98

Abbreviation for Journals and Series

Discussion:

Corbo (1955) suggested that the site was a monastery. In the excavations, remains of the church reported in early surveys were not found, possibly looted for the stone. Remains of unidentified structures were found in the excavations along with remains of a Roman bath house that was not in use in the Byzantine period. Corbo's identification of the site as a monastery has been tentatively accepted (Magen and Kagan 2012: 97-98)

State of certainty:

Uncertain / Questionable

General description

Churche/s:

Remains of a church (13.8 m wide , length unknown), built of ashlars were noted in early surveys. However, in a salvage excavation in 2002 remains of a church were not identified.

Agricultural and industrial installations:

An improved winepress was found.

Small finds

Small finds:

Category	Description
Pottery	Shards dated to the Byzantine period.

Detailed description

Structure

Materials applied (walls):

Limestone

Components

Monastery church:

Church type	Diakonikon	Link to church section	Church location
unknown

Kitchen

Agricultural installations:

wine press\es [=w/p]

Architectural evolution

Phase 1
Abandonment

General outline:

The monastery was probably established sometime in the late fifth or sixth century CE. A Roman bathhouse was uncovered at the site, it had gone out of use by the Byzantine period.

Phase date

Century:

5th-6th c.

Dating material:

The latest finds at the site were dated to the eighth century, however, if this was a monastery, it may have been abandoned at an earlier date.

Phase date

Century:

7th-8th c.

Post Arab conquest history:

Still in use