13002 - Deir el-Quruntul (Monastery of Douka) - Chapel

Church Name, type, function

Site Name:

Deir el-Quruntul (Monastery of Douka)

Identification:

The monastery of Douka preserves the name of the Dok fortress, mentioned by Josephus as standing above Jericho in the Second Temple period, and also called Dagon. Nearby is a still active spring, 'Ein Duyuk, which preserves the name of the monastery and fortress. The monastery is also called Deir el-Quruntul (Mount of the Forty), based on the narrative of trial of Jesus with the Devil for forty days.

Church name:

Chapel

Functional Type:

Monastic

Church type:

Cave church

Location

Coordinates, ITM system:

240.97

642.31

Coordinates, ICS system:

190.97

1,142.30

Geographical region:

Judean Desert

Topographical location:

On the cliff south of Na'aran. At the foot of the cliff is a still active spring.

Distance from nearest bishop-seat:

ca. 21 km northeast of Jerusalem.

Distance from nearest settlement:

ca. 2.5 km northwest of Jericho.

Distance from Roman roads:

On the road between Antipatris (Aphek) and Jericho.

Provincial affiliation:

Palaestina I

Source of knowledge

Literary sources:

HideLiterary sources

Deir el-Quruntul (Monastery of Douka) - Chapel

Source:

Pall., Hist. Laus.

Abbreviation for Journals and Series

Paragraph:

48

Translation:

Once this Elpidius was stung by a scorpion while he was chanting psalms by night, and we chanted with him. He tread upon it, but did not change position, taking no heed of the pain caused by the scorpion. One day a brother had a piece of vine twig in his hand; Elpidius took it and drove it into the earth in the spot where he was sitting, near the brow of the mountain, as though he was planting it, though it was not the right season. This twig grew and became a vine (so big) that it covered the whole church.

(transl. Leah Di Segni)

Summary:

Mention of a church in an anecdote about Elpidius in the caves of Douka, from a collection written in AD 420.

Archaeological remains

Surveyed site

Bibliograpy:

Tristram, H. B., 1866	212-214
Guérin, V., 1875	I, 41-45
Conder, C. R. and Kitchener, H. H., 1883	201-5
Marti, K., 1880
Vailhé, S., 1897-1898	44–49
Abel, F. M., 1938
Meinardus, O., 1969
Ovadiah, A. and De Silva, C. G., 1981
Hirschfeld, Y., 1990
Tsafrir, Y., Di Segni, L. and Green, J., 1994
Di Segni, L., 2005
Magen, Y. and Kagan, E. D., 2012	JSP 13, 268-9

Abbreviation for Journals and Series

General description

State of preservation/which parts were uncovered:

Remains of a Byzantine monastery. Several chapels, some in caves, among them an apsidal chapel or a cave church. A modern monastery currently occupies the site.

Description

Illustrative material:

Illustrative_material

Figures

Small finds

Small finds illustrative material:

Illustrative_material

Detailed description

Structure

Orientation:

Facing east

Architectural Evolution

Dating material	Phase no.	Century	Within century
The monastery was founded in 340 CE by Chariton who, according to the narrative, settled in a cave near Jericho. Later on a laura was established around the cave.	Phase 1	4th c.	Second half
The monastery was abandoned in the Early Islamic period and rebuilt by the Greek Patriarchate at the end of the nineteenth century.	Abandonment	7th c?

Post Arab conquest history:

Still in use

Post conquest history comments:

The monastery was abandoned in the Early Islamic period.