'Ein el Ma'amudieh - Chapel
Church Name, type, function
Site Name:
'Ein el Ma'amudieh
Identification:
In some publications Ain el Ma'amudieh (= “the spring of baptism”). Traditionally it commemorates John the Baptist’s early ministry, prior to his settlement on the shore of the Jordan river - the "wilderness of Saint John the Baptist near Hebron".
Church name:
Chapel
Functional Type:
Baptismal chapel
Church type:
Chapel - Free standing
Location
Coordinates, ITM system:
203.92
604.50
Coordinates, ICS system:
153.91
1,104.49
Geographical region:
Hebron Hills
Topographical location:
On the southern bank of a wadi bellow the Arab village Taffuh.
Distance from nearest settlement:
Approx. 8 km. to the west of Hebron.
Distance from Roman roads:
Near the road connecting between Eleutheropolis and Hebron.
Provincial affiliation:
Palaestina I
Bishopric:
Eleutheropolis
Source of knowledge
Epigraphy:
Archaeological remains
Excavated site
Excavators:
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
Steve, A. M. | 1945-1946 |
Riba | 2016 |
History:
Both phases were dated to the first half of the 6th c. Riba suggested that the system of ablution and baptism in running water resembled that described by Egeria in Aenon (Itin. 15).
General description
State of preservation/which parts were uncovered:
A small baptismal chapel with running water, 3.15X6.65 m. in dimensions, and a tunnel on the south, ca. 11.5m long, leading to the source of water. The walls of the chapel are preserved to an elevation of 2.4-2.75 m. An arched doorway in the south leads into the tunnel that served as a corridor leading to a cave, 2.15X3 m., with an eastern apse. A pit cut into the bedrock provides water to the baptismal font. The archaeological examination of the existing installations conducted in 2016 revealed two phases that succeeded each other; both in the first half of the 6th century. The chapel with the circular font (1.8m in diameter) was preceded by a larger rectagular basin coated in hydraulic plaster and oriented to the feeding tunnel. A second circular font, 1m in diameter and 1m deep, might have served for the immersion of children. Two rectangular basins farther north might have served for pre-baptismal ablution.
Description
Illustrative material:
Façade and entries:
Entrance from the north.
Lateral walls:
0.9 m. wide.
Bema, chancel screen and apse:
An interior apse had a window on the east. Four stairs led from the east into the circular baptismal font in front of the apse.
Small finds
Small finds:
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
Inscription - see under epigraphy | A decorated lintel, 0.6X1X3 m., contains a three line Greek inscription. |
Small finds illustrative material:
Detailed description
Structure
Orientation:
Facing east
Materials applied (walls):
Limestone
East end:
Internal apse
Central Apse Category:
apsidal
Apse shape:
Hemispherical
Baptism
Baptism photos and plans:
Loci:
A circular font, 1.8m in diameter, is located in front of the apse. Four stairs led in from the east. A second circular font, 1m in diameter, might had served for the baptism of children. Two other rectangular basin, on the north, might have served for pre-baptismal ablution.
The larger earlier basin, that predates the chapel with its circular font, might have functioned
Font structure:
Masonry built
External shape:
circular
Internal shape:
circular
Ben-Pechat type:
7a
Architectural Evolution
| General outline | Dating material | Phase no. | Century | Within century |
|---|---|---|---|---|
The pottery embedded in the plaste of the early basin dates no later than the early 6th c. | Phase 1 | 6th c. | Early | |
The chapel and the circular font were installed in this phase over the primitive early rectangular basin. | C14 probes of the mortar embedded in the apse provided dates ranging between 406 andt 542. But stratigraphically the chapel was constructed over the early basin of phase 1. | Phase 2 | 6th c. | First half |
Dated according to the pottery found in the fort in Kh. ed-Deir. | Abandonment | 7th-8th c. |
Post Arab conquest history:
Modified
Post conquest history comments:
The tunnel leading to the cave might have been covered over in that time.
Ca. 200 M. from the baptismal Chapel, at Kh. ed-Deir, is a square building which is also part of the same monastic complex. It was suggested that the building served as a fort to guard the monastery.