Ein en Nukheil (Laura of Gerasimus) - Hermits chapel
Church Name, type, function
Site Name:
Ein en Nukheil (Laura of Gerasimus)
Identification:
Several hermitages rock cut in the soft marl formation extend along the SW bank of Wadi en Nukheil. They seem to belong to the Laura of Gerasimus, the core of which extended at some distance to the west (perhaps at the site of Deir Hajla, or 350m to its east).
Church name:
Hermits chapel
Functional Type:
Hermitage chapel
Dedication:
unknown
Church type:
Unknown
Location
Coordinates, ITM system:
247.60
636.44
Coordinates, ICS system:
197.59
1,136.40
Geographical region:
Southern Jordan Valley
Topographical location:
On a plain, to the east from the main monastery
Distance from nearest bishop-seat:
ca. 25 km east - northeast of Jerusalem.
Distance from nearest settlement:
ca. 5 km southeast of Jericho.
Distance from Roman roads:
ca. 2 km south from the road connecting Jericho, Nevo and Amman
Provincial affiliation:
Palaestina I
Bishopric:
Regio Jericho
Source of knowledge
Literary sources:
Literary sources
Archaeological remains
Surveyed site
Surveyors:
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
Conder and Kitchener | 1871-1877 |
Guérin | 1874-1875 |
Κοικυλίδου | 1890s-1900 |
Féderlin | 1903 |
Schneider | 1933 |
Augustinović | 1950 |
Bar Adon | 1967-1968 |
Hirschfeld | 1987 |
History:
The monastery was founded by Gerasimus ca. 455 CE. This was of a type not found elsewhere in the area, consisting of a laura of scattered cells with a coenobium at its center where aspiring monks were trained. The monastery may have been abandoned in the Early Islamic period. A group of ten monks were settled there in the early ninth century. In the late nineteenth century, a Greek Orthodox monastery was established nearby. The builders of the modern monastery had apparently made use of the stones remaining at the site of the original core (Augustinović 1951).
Bibliograpy:
Vol. III, 178, 214-216 | |
520 | |
134 | |
148 | |
18-19, no. 7 | |
197-202 | |
48-54 | |
JSP 13, no. 158; 302-303 |
General description
State of preservation/which parts were uncovered:
Remains of a Byzantine laura were discovered east of the present-day monastery, and include a chapel (according to the cross-section, rock-hewn, with a niche), monastic cells and colorful tesserae.
Description
Small finds
Small finds illustrative material:
Architectural Evolution
| Dating material | Phase no. | Century | Within century |
|---|---|---|---|
According to the literary sources, the monastery, of a composite type (a laura with a coenobium at it center, that served as its novitiate), was founded by Gerasimus in ca. 455 CE. | Phase 1 | 5th c. | Mid |
The monastery was probably abandoned in the Early Islamic period but was restored in medieval times and again in the nineteenth century, and is currently active. | Abandonment | 7th c? |
Post Arab conquest history:
Still in use
Féderlin suggests that the original coenobitic section of Gerasimus’ monastery was built to the east of the present-day monastery, and that its stones were used to build the latter.