Iraq Ismaʻin - SAMSO (?)

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Monastery name, type, category

Site Name:

Iraq Ismaʻin

Identification:

The site of Iraq Ismaʻin was identified as the place where a monastery with a memorial church for the veneration of Old Testament's Samson had been established (Gass and Zissu 2005). This identification is based on the hermits' cave and other structures found at the site, which in their opinion points to a cliff type coenobitic monastery. This suggestion was refuted by Taxel (2009: 194) according to whom, there is no evidence for this assertion. Taxel suggested that the site was a hermitage of a small group of monks, possibly attached to a mother house somewhere in the vicinity.

Monastery name:

SAMSO (?)

Monastery type:

Hermitage/hermitages

Monastery category:

Isolated in the countryside

Source of sacredness:

Old Testament site

Location

Coordinates, ITM system:

202,704.00

630,153.00

Coordinates, ICS system:

152,700.00

130,152.00

Geographical region:

Shephelah

Provincial affiliation:

Palaestina I

Bishopric:

Eleutheropolis

Topographical location:

Cliff.

Distance from nearest bishop-seat:

ca. 25 km (Beth Govrin-Eleutheropolis).

Distance from Roman roads:

ca. 5 km from the road connecting Lod-Diospolis with Jerusalem.

Source of knowledge

Literary sources

Archaeological remains

Surveyed site

Surveyors:

Name	Date
Gass and Zissu	2005

Bibliograpy:

Gass, E. and Zissu, B., 2005	168-83
Taxel, I., 2008	57-73
Taxel, I., 2009	133-39
Dayan, A., 2015	148
Gaß, E. and Zissu, B., 2021

Abbreviation for Journals and Series

State of certainty:

Archaeologicaly definitive

General description

State of preservation/which parts were uncovered:

A survey revealed rock cut stairs, a cave church in a poor state of preservation and remains of walls. In some places the walls are extant to a height of three courses. A strong retaining wall and additional walls were found outside the compound, attesting to the existence of additional buildings on the slope.

Illustrative material:

Illustrative_material

Figures

Iraq Ism'in- plan of the site (Gass and Zissu 2009: 36*, fig. 3)

General description

Paths:

Rock cut stairways and paths are located along a narrow shelf at the foot of the cliff. A flight of hewn steps marks the westernmost point of the complex. This flight of steps was the only means of climbing the cliff and connecting the compound to the path arriving from the northwest.

Gate/s:

The main entrance to the complex is from the east.

Courtyards:

Broad steps were carved descending to a flat terrace- probably a courtyard flanked on the north by the cave complex and on the south by the slope which descends steeply to the bottom of the valley.

Tower/s:

Carved foundations and traces of masonry six meters above the floor level of the entranceway provided a framework for a structure at least two stories high- possibly a tower.

Churche/s:

The church was located in a large, natural cave. The cave is about 25 m wide at its opening and about 5-10 m high with a maximal depth of 37 m. A retaining wall was built at the entrance to the cave to form a wide level area. The church was partly built, attested by the well-dressed stones found inside the cave, and partly rock-hewn. One of the stones is rounded in profile indicating a barrel vault or part of an apse. Some colored tesserae and a few fragments of tiles were found. The upper part of the walls and ceiling of the cave contain large traces of plaster made of mud and straw, in two layers. Many shards of ribbed Byzantine storage jars were imbedded in the plaster. A rock-cut, plastered apse was paved with mosaics that had been systematically destroyed. It is not clear if the church was tri or mono-apsidal. The church cave was heavily damaged after the Byzantine period.

Water installations:

Remains of a large oval cistern were found. The cistern measures ca. 11 m long, 10 wide and 5 deep, its capacity is estimated at 450 m³. A second, bell shaped water cistern was located outside the gate. Its measurements: 3 x 2.5 m, 4 m deep with an estimated capacity of 20 m³.

Small finds

Detailed description

Structure

Materials applied (walls):

Limestone

Materials applied (roofing):

tiles

Components

Tower/s

Courtyard/s

Monastery church:

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

Dwelling type:

caves

Built paths

Retaining walls

Water installations:

Cisterns

Water capacity (minimal) (cubic m):

470

Architectural evolution

Phase 1
Abandonment

General outline:

Dating material:

The site was not excavated. It is dated generally to the Byzantine period.

Phase date

Century:

Early Christian / Byzantine

Phase date

Century:

7th c?

Post Arab conquest history:

Abandoned

Post conquest history comments:

The cave church was severely damaged after the Byzantine period.