Ḥorvat Hesheq - ST. GEORGE

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Church Name, type, function

Site Name:

Ḥorvat Hesheq

Church name:

ST. GEORGE

Dedication:

The church was dedicated to St. George

Functional Type:

Private estate

Church type:

Basilical - Free standing basilica

Location

Coordinates, ITM system:

225.71

761.95

Coordinates, ICS system:

175.71

1,261.95

Location:

Rural

Geographical region:

Western Galilee

Distance from nearest bishop-seat:

Horvat Hesheq located within a boundaries of the Diocese of Sepphoris, 20 km north of the city.

Distance from nearest settlement:

The church is a solitary structure located at a distance of approx. 150 m north of Horvat Mahoz, which is a relatively large (30 dunams), unidentified Byzantine settlement.

Provincial affiliation:

Palaestina II

Bishopric:

Sepphoris

Source of knowledge

HideEpigraphy

Text number	Summary
1	Dedicatory seven-line mosaic inscription of Demetrius the deacon and his household, in the northern aisle of the church.
2	Commemorative building inscription of Demetrius the deacon and his son George, at the entrance to the bema.
3	Dedicatory and commemorative mosaic inscription of Demetrius the deacon and his son George and their family members, in front of the south apsis.
4	Dated building inscription of Demetrius the deacon and his family, at the western threshold of the nave, April 519.
5	Invocation of St. Sergius on behalf of Demetrius the deacon, in the mosaic pavement at the end of the south aisle.
6	Unframed mosaic inscription with Psalms quotation, near the southern entrance to the church.

Archaeological remains

Excavated site

Excavators:

Name	Date
Aviam	1985-1988
Aviam and Cohen-Tavor	2017, 2018

Bibliograpy:

Abbreviation for Journals and Series

General description

State of preservation/which parts were uncovered:

The tri-apsidal basilica with a prothesis chapel attached on the north and an atrium above a water cistern in the north. It is well preserved, with walls rising up to a height of 1 m and the central apse standing to a height of about 4.5 m above ground level. Only small parts of the atrium and the narthex were excavated. Inside the church mainly the eastern part was excavated. In the 1st Phase it was a mono-apsidal basilica with two pastophoria flanking the apse. The foundation of the church was dated to 519 CE by a Greek mosaic inscription set at the entrance to the nave, facing east. In the 2nd Phase the church-head was transformed to tri-apsidal and an apsidal hall was attached to the church on the north. This is clearly indicated by a seam on the outside of the eastern wall.

Description

Illustrative material:

Illustrative_material

Figures

Atrium:

Only a small section of the atrium was excavated. Presumably, it consisted of an inner court surrounded by porticoes. The atrium was built over an arched water cistern. The southern wal of the cistern was brocken through.

Narthex:

The narthex or exo-narthex, 2 m wide, served as the eastern portico of the atrium. Three entrances led in to the basilica. Another opening, farther north, led to the atthached prothesis chapel / diakonikon.

Façade and entries:

Three entrances led to the church hall from the narthex. The central was wider than the two lateral. A stone lintel was found in-situ above the northern entrance. It is evident that originally, the lintel was decorated with a metal cross and apparently with letters Α Ω. The middle and southern lintels were found brocken, but on both of them there are indications for attaching a cross in the center.

Lateral walls:

The church was built of ashlar stones bonded with cement on the external facade and part of the interior, while other parts were made up of a dry mixture of mortar and small stones. Access was possible only from the north.

Nave:

The church hall, 11 m long and 8.5 m wide, was divided by two rows of three columns, probably with Corinthian capitals, to a nave and two aisles. The floors of the nave and the aisles were covered with colored mosaics with geometric patterns.

Aisles:

The southern aisle was excavated to its full length; the northern one, only partially (in 2017), near its eastern end. Both ends were apsidal. At the center of the southern apse an altar base with depressions for four legs and a reliquary depression (found empty), in the middle, was discovered. It measured 35 X 30 cm and had a marble lid with a hole.

Bema, chancel screen and apse:

The internal, semi-rounded apse is preserved to an elevation of about 4.5 m above ground level - up to the string course. The bema is elevated 40 cm above the nave. It was surrounded by a marble chancel screen without lateral openings. The posts of the screen were made of hard limestone. The opening in the screen, was flanked by two secondery tables, each marked by four depressions with small marble bases made of soft limestone, for inserting their legs. The altar base (50 X 90 cm in dimensions) with a reliquarium depression were standing in front of the apse. An existence of ciborium above the altar is indicated by fragments of columns of smaller order, and by two Corinthian capitals that were found near the altar.

Lateral spaces:

In the 1st Phase it was a mono-apsidal basilica with two pastophoria flanking the apse. In the 2nd Phase the church-head was transformed to tri-apsidal and an apsidal hall was attached to the church on the north. This is clearly indicated by a seam on the outside of the eastern wall.

The lateral apses, installed in Phase 2, were dry-built within a rectangular external frame of the pastophoria built of ashlars bonded with cement. An altar base with four leg-depressions and a central one for a reliquary, was installed in the southern apse.

Crypt: See in the Detailed Description, crypt

Small finds

Small finds:

Category	Description
Stone vessels	On the mosaic floor of the nave a small reliquarium, 20 X 30 cm and a part of a marble large flat dish were discovered.
Metal objects	A short distance from the reliquarium was a bronze mounting of an overhead lamp, with the glass handles still attached.
Pottery	At the eastern part of the southern aisle a large number of jar sherds were discovered, probably from vessels that had toppled from the galleries. Also in the southern aisle as well as in the nave, many roof tiles were found.

Detailed description

Structure

Orientation:

Facing east

Materials applied (walls):

Limestone

Materials applied (roofing):

tiles

timber

Atrium:

Yes

Water cistern:

Yes

Narthex:

Yes

Aisles:

Colonnades / Arcades:

Arcade of columns

Number of nave columns in a row:

Total
3

Capital types:

Corinthian

East end:

Internal apses

Church Head/Chevet:

tri-apsidal

Central Apse Category:

apsidal

Bema type:

U shaped without lateral openings

Elevation of Bema above nave:

1 step up

Altar remains:

base plate

Altar type:

Marble, table like

Secondary table/s

Altar reliquiarium type:

Base plate with a central depression

Altar location:

On the apse cord

Secondary tables:

At the back of the chancel screen, to the right and left of the entrance to the bema were found four recesses with small marble bases of soft limestone for inserting the legs of two tables. At the center of the southern apse stood another table, evident by four leg-depressions and a central reliquary depression in a base-plate made of limestone.

Ciborium:

An existence of ciborium above the altar is evident by fragments of small columns and two Corinthian capitals of a smaller order that were found near the altar.

Ambo:

Apse elevation:

Flush with the bema

Apse shape:

Hemispherical

Synthronon:

Lateral Apses Function

Location:

N & S

Northern apse description and function:

Hidden in the debris, but its existence is recognizable.

Southern apse description and function:

The apse served for the cult of the relics, evident by the reliquary found in the floor of the apse, under a secondary table.

Crypt

Accessibility and description:

A burial tomb, accessed from the south was partially built as a crypt, partially rock-cut below the southern aisle and a part of the nave. Seemingly this was the common tomb of the members of the family of the deacon Demetrius, who built this private church (see Epigraphy).

Function:

Burial crypt.

Cult of relics

Cult of relics loci:

under altar

S apse

Reliquiaries: shapes and contents:

Three reliquaries were discovered in the church: in the central apse, in the southern apse and a portable reliquary in the nave. The reliquary in the central apse was set in the middle of a stone altar base plate, located on the apse cord, sunk in the floor, so that only the top 15 cm had protruded above floor level. The reliquary in the southern apse was also cut in the center of a stone altar base plate that stood in the apse. It measures 30 X 25 X 15 cm and had a marble lid with a hole in its center. Four drills in the corners of the lid served to secure it in its place by pouring in melted lead into which four iron pegs were set. The "portable" reliquary was made of limestone, measuring 27 X 17 X 12 cm and decorated with a cross. It had a bronze spout in the center of one of its long faces. The cover (not found), was a sliding lid.

Burial loci

Burials loci:

Under the floor of the southern aisle, in its center, was located the burial crypt addressed above. It was reachable only from the outside of the church, from the south, through an entrance, 60 X 70 cm in dimensions, once having a stone door. It seems that it served as the family memorial.

Upper galleries

Upper galleries:

above both aisles

Galleries description:

Their existence is suggested by the debris of mosaic frags, and balustrade members. Access by a wide staircase installed in an attached northern hall, once suggested, was refuted in the 2017 excavations, indicating that this hall was an apsidal prothesis chapel / diakonikon.

Attached structures

Prothesis chapel / Diakonikon:

Apsidal chapel

Prothesis chapel / Diakonikon description:

This apsidal chapel with a roof retained by lateral arches (remains of three were exposed), was uncovered only in the 2017 excavations. Its western part is poorly preserved.

Architectural Evolution

Phase 1
Phase 2
Abandonment

General outline:

A mono-apsidal church with two pastophoria flanking the apse. It had an atrium and a narthex. Burial chamber under the southern aisle. Water cistern under the atrium.

Dating material:

The foundation of the church was dated to 519 CE by a Greek mosaic inscription set at the entrance to the nave, facing east.

Phase date

Century:

6th c.

Within century:

Early

Iconoclastic evidence

Iconoclastic evidence:

Yes

Iconoclastic evidence comments:

The excavators mention a damage that was caused to panels with human or zoomorphic motifs. The date of the iconoclasm is uncertain but, according to the excavators, it took place already after the abandonment of the church but, before the final destruction.

General outline:

The mono-apsidal church was converted to tri-apsidal. An annexed apsidal chapel was annexed to the north of the northern aisle, lengthwise, as is indicated by the seam on the outside of the eastern wall.

Phase date

Century:

6th c.

Within century:

Second half

General outline:

The church was abandoned in an orderly manner presumably as a result of the Persian conquest. After a short period of desertion, letting earth penetrating in, it fell in ruins.

Phase date

Century:

7th c.

Within century:

Early