Heptapegon - The Sermon on the Mount.
Church Name, type, function
Location
Source of knowledge
Archaeological remains
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
Baggati, B. | 1935 |
General description
Description
Covered in a mosaic. Dimensions: 4.5X2.5 m.
An entrance from the monastery on the west wall.
The walls were covered in plaster, on which pilgrims have curved crosses and inscriptions. An Opening leading to the cave on the northern wall. Thickness of the wall : 0.6 m.
Covered by a mosaic. Floor level is higher than the atrium.
Partly hewn from the rock and partly constructed, raised a step above the chapel floor. No floor, only bare rock. Depth: 1.75 m. Wall thickness: 0.9 m.
Small finds
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
Other | Decorated Marble fragments were found, Several are from the alter table. |
Inscription - see under epigraphy | crosses and Inscriptions were found on the walls. Only a few letters survived. |
Pottery | Arab pottery was found in a row of stones with ashes on the mosaic floor. |
Glass | Fragments of glass lamps. |
Detailed description
Structure
Attached structures
Architectural Evolution
| General outline | Dating material | Phase no. | Century | Within century |
|---|---|---|---|---|
In general description | Loffreda Dates the church to the end of the fourth century. | Phase 1 | 4th c. | Late |
A new mosaic was placed in the early sixth century. | Phase 2 | 6th c. | Early | |
Dated by the pottery found in a row of stones with ashes fallen on the mosaic floor. Seemingly this is the monastery with 10 monks mentioned in the Commemoratorium de Cassis Deii II, 38-39 (808), in association with the Miracle of the Multiplying of the Loves and Fishes (ed. McCormick 2011, pp. 212-13), tradition which was transfer to here after the basilica at the foot of the mount fell in ruines, as we hear from Arculf (670). See under the monastery card. Seemingly this is also the church addressed by Epiph. mon., Enarr. Syr. 32. | Abandonment | 10th c. |