CAPHAR BARICHA; Bani Na'im; - The Church of St. Lot (?)
Church Name, type, function
Site Name:
CAPHAR BARICHA; Bani Na'im;
Identification:
Bani Na'im; Bani N'aim; Bani-Naïm; Banī Na'īm; Kafar barîk; Kafr Berēk; Kefr Bareka.
The site of Bani Na'im is identified as Caphar Baricha (Καπαρβαρίχα). Mentioned in several historical sources: Epiph., Hier. 40, 1, 3 (GCS 31, p. 81); Hier., Ep. 108, 11, venerated as Lot's tomb. Not to confuse with a different mosque, which stands 2 km south of Bani Na'im at Nabi Yaqin (a place, associated with Abraham and Lot, standing and looking on the burning Sodom and Gommorah).
More about the identification: Vailhe 1900: 69; Thomsen 1907: 79; Mader 1918: 157-165; Abel 1933-38 II: 288; Avi-Yonah 1976: 46; Tabula: 98.
Church name:
The Church of St. Lot (?)
Functional Type:
Memorial
Dedication:
St. Lot
Church type:
Unknown
Location
Coordinates, ITM system:
21,569.00
60,269.00
Coordinates, ICS system:
16,569.00
10,269.00
Geographical region:
Judean Hills
Topographical location:
the site is on a mountainous ridge
Distance from nearest settlement:
5 km to the east from Hebron, on the eastern edge of the village Bani Na'im
Distance from Roman roads:
On the road from Jerusalem to Negev and Sinai
Provincial affiliation:
Palaestina I
Bishopric:
Eleutheropolis
Source of knowledge
Literary sources:
Literary sources
Archaeological remains
Surveyed site
Surveyors:
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
Robinson | 1838 |
Guerin | 1860s |
Conder and Kitchener | 1874 |
Mader | 1911-1914 |
Kochavi | 1967/8 |
Hirschfeld | 1980s |
History:
Robinson identified the site with "Caphar Baricha", which was mentioned by St. Jerome as the tomb of Lot (4th century CE). St. Jerome mentioned St. Paula visited the height of "Caphar Baricha" after she had left Hebron, commemorating Lot (Hier., Ep. 108, 11). Father Abel noted, that (Abel 1933: 288): "this village where one is shown Lot's tomb evokes rather the episode of Genesis 18: 16-22".
Also the surroundings of Bani Na'im are associated with Lot and Abraham, standing into the direction of the Dead Sea and watching the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 2, p. 189), but this association shouldn't be confused with Nabi Yakin mosque.
There were several monasteries in Caphar Baricha in Byzantine period. One of the monasteries was founded by St. Euthymius (Cyr. Scyth., Vita Euthymii 12, 12, 14) in 423 CE, after his arrival to the Wilderness of Ziph, though there are other places that could be associated with this monastery (Kh. Umm Halasa, Kh. Umm Rukba; 'Ein el-Skhaniya, Kh el-Quneitira). The monastery of Severianus, who was the disciple of St. Saba (Cyr. Scyth., Vita Sabae 16, 36, 99), was built in 515 also in the vicinity of Bani Na'im. Previously it was associated with Mahal ed-Deir, but there are no remains there (Bagatti 2002: 88). Now it is identified with the monastery in Kh. ed-Deir (See: Marcoff and Chitty 1929: 178; Hirschfeld 1999: 156-7; Di Segni 2005a: 150-1, note 69).
Bibliograpy:
General description
State of preservation/which parts were uncovered:
In the masonry of some Arab houses, built in the Bani Na'im, ancient ashlars and sometimes more delicate architectural members, such as chancel screen post, and a stone with the decorative rosette were incorporated. All of them are of Byzantine style, so the village once was a Byzantine settlement with the church. Already Guerin had surveyed and identified the mosque Nebi Lut in Bani Na'im, built on the tomb of the prophet Lot. The courtyard of the mosque seems to be founded on the remains of the church, specially, the northern wall seems to be ancient. The mosque bears the name of St. Lot, so it was supposed that it was built on the place of Basilica of St. Lot. There are ashlars, some with the rough bosses, incorporated into the masonry of the mosque. Some other Byzantine spolia were described by Mader and repeated by Kagan: a lintel (see architectural members) with medallions in the now blocked doorway, a lintel with the circles (probably, also defaced medallions) and a stone adorned with the cross. The kenotaph of St. Lot is modern and was looted recently. Fr. Abel was told by local dwellers that there was a mosaic inscription in the village.
Description
Small finds
Small finds:
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
Pottery | Nearby the mosque of Nabi Lut the Byzantine potsherds were found by Fr. Abel (see Bagatti 2002: 88). |
Small finds illustrative material:
Detailed description
Structure
Materials applied (walls):
Limestone
Architectural Evolution
| General outline | Iconoclastic evidence | Iconoclastic evidence comments | Phase no. | Century |
|---|---|---|---|---|
The existence of a church at the site is deduced from architectural elements incorporated in the mosque. | Phase 1 | Early Christian / Byzantine | ||
Abandonment | Unknown |
Post conquest history comments:
In the Early Islamic period the church was rebuilt into the mosque, preserving its traditional dedication to St. Lot. According to the Kufic inscription on the lintel, the mosque can be dated to not later than the Fatimid period.