13558 - Khirbet Karkara; Ḥ. Karkara - Northern Church

Church Name, type, function

Site Name:

Khirbet Karkara; Ḥ. Karkara

Church name:

Northern Church

Functional Type:

Parochial

Church type:

Double church

Location

Coordinates, ITM system:

220.80

775.40

Coordinates, ICS system:

170.80

1,275.40

Geographical region:

Western Galilee

Topographical location:

In the ravine of Naḥal Beẓet, at the NW edge of the village.

Provincial affiliation:

Phoenice I

Bishopric:

Tyre

Source of knowledge

Epigraphy:

HideEpigraphy

Text number	Summary
1	Dated mosaic building inscription of archbishop Longinus and other clergymen, at the centre of the nave, 16 April 478.
2	Commemorative one-line mosaic inscription of Susanna, skirting the back wall of the northern apse of the church.
3	Heavily damaged dedicatory (?) mosaic inscription at the front of the bema of the church.
4	Heavily damaged mosaic inscription at the western end of the nave of the church, in front of the central entrance.
5	Heavily damagted cross with Christian acclamation in the mosaic pavement at the middle of the central apse of the church.

Archaeological remains

Excavated site

Excavators:

Name	Date
Foerster, G.	1966
Aviam and Ashkenazi	Summer 2017

Bibliograpy:

Avi-Yonah, M., 1966
Aviam, M., 1994	90
Tsafrir, Y., Di Segni, L. and Green, J., 1994
Schick, R., 1995
Di Segni, L., 1997
Bagatti, B., 2001	156
Kohn-Tavor, A., Ashkenazi, J. and Aviam, M., 2020
Di Segni, L. and Ashkenazi, J., 2020

Abbreviation for Journals and Series

General description

State of preservation/which parts were uncovered:

Two adjoining churches. The northern seems to be somewhat later than the southern. A three-apsidal church, 21X13 m. A mosaic floor depicting medallions with birds. Altogether 5 inscriptions were uncovered in the church. A sixth inscription was found at the entrance to the Southern Church.

Description

Illustrative material:

Illustrative_material

Figures

Plans of the two churches, Di Segni and Ashkenazi 2020, Fig. 1

Façade and entries:

Three entries from the west. The nave inscription near its entrance was facing west.

Nave:

Decorated with mosaic floor depicting medallions with birds. Inscriptions near the main entrance and in the middle.

Bema, chancel screen and apse:

An erroded Greek inscription located on the bema, near its entrance, above stairs leading up. Anather inscription in the central apse, depicted a cross with the inscription IC XC A W.

Small finds

Small finds:

Category	Description
Inscription - see under epigraphy	A dedicatory Greek inscription in the mosaic with the date "30th Dystrus of the year 603" (Avi Yonah, 1966).

Small finds illustrative material:

Illustrative_material

Architectural Evolution

Dating material	Phase no.	Century	Within century	Subphase A - Century	Subphase B - Century
Avi Yonah dated the inscription, by the era of Tyre, to March 477. Di Segni, also using the era of Tyre, corrected the dating to April 16, 478. The Susana inscription, in the northern apse, was laid slightly after the original pavement of the apse, which was repaved. This is marked here as Subphase A. Later on a bema and a secondary altar was built in the apse, over the mosaic floor, seemingly for the placement of a reliquary. This addition is marked here as Sub-phase B.	Phase 1	5th c.	Mid	Unknown	6th c.
Schick dates the abandonment of the church to erlier than the iconoclastic period due to the existence of unharmed animal images in the mosaic.	Abandonment	7th c?