Jerusalem (Mount of Olives) - Gethsemane - St. Leontius
Church Name, type, function
Site Name:
Jerusalem (Mount of Olives) - Gethsemane
Identification:
Alliata and Yeger (2022) suggested to identify this chapel, uncovered at Gethsemane near the tri-apsidal Agony Church, and dated by them to the 7th c., with St. Leontius church mentioned in the Georgian Lectionary (5th-8th c.), Georgian Calendar (both for Nov. 14th), Commemoratorium de casis Dei (808 CE) and Bernard the Monk (ca. 870 CE). The church was renovated in the Umayyad period (7th-8th c.), and abandoned in the 9th-10th c. According to the Georgian Lectionary and Georgian Calendar, this was a building of Aphronius, near Gethsemane. The deposition of the bones of St. Leontius were celebrated there on Nov. 14.
Church name:
St. Leontius
Functional Type:
Memorial
Dedication:
St. Leontius
Church type:
Chapel
Location
Coordinates, ITM system:
172,813.00
1,131,840.00
Coordinates, ICS system:
222,817.00
631,841.00
Geographical region:
Jerusalem Mount of Olives
Topographical location:
Near the foot of Mt. of Olives. At the northern end of the Franciscan Gethsemane Garden and at the foot of the Franciscan Agony Church.
Bishopric:
Jerusalem
Source of knowledge
Literary sources:
Epigraphy:
Archaeological remains
Excavated site
Excavators:
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
Alliata and Yeger | 2020 |
History:
The chapel, dated to the first half of te 7th c., was identified with St. Leontius church mentioned in the Georgian Lectionary and Calendar (Nov. 14th, deposition of relics), Commemoratorium de casis Dei (808 CE), and Bernard the Wise (ca. 870 CE). According to the Georgian Lectionary and Georgian Calendar, this was a building of Aphronius, near Gethsemane.
General description
State of preservation/which parts were uncovered:
An apse open to a nave paved by stone slabs. No bema was observed. The apse was mosaic paved and its wall was decorated by frescos. On the outside of the apse a simple cist tomb with a skeleton of an adult male was excavated. It is dated to the earliest stage of the church.
Description
Small finds
Architectural Evolution
| Phase name (as published) | General outline | Dating material | Phase no. | Century | Within century | Subphase A - Century | Subphase B - Century | Subphase A - Within century | Subphase B - Within century |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Strata IX | Alliata and Yeger (2022) dated the chapel to the 7th c., pre-Muslim conquest. | Inscription dated to the Byzantine period | Phase 1 | 7th c. | First half | ||||
Strata VIII | The chapel was renovated and repaired in the Umayyad period (7th-8th c). Two sub-phases were observed. The first - of repairs and additions. The apse mosaics were replaced by stone slabs. A staircase was installed to the north. The inscription seems to belong to this sub-phase. In sub-phase B a cist tomb penetrated the limestone floor of Phase 1. | Phase 2 | 7th-8th c. | 8th c. | 8th c. | Early | Mid | ||
The structure was abandoned during the 2nd half of the 8th c., at the earliest. | A post reform Ummayad coin dated to the years 708-717 CE was uncovered under the inscription. | Abandonment | 8th c. | Second half |
Post Arab conquest history:
Modified
Post conquest history comments:
The chapel was renovated and modified in the Umayyad period (7th-8th c). Abandoned in the 2nd half of the 8th c., at the earliest. Perhapse later, in the 9th-10th c. It was not active anypore during the Crusaders period.