[Rendered Node]


                    el-Bassa; BEZETH - Chapel (?)
            
      
      Church Name, type, function
      Site Name:&nbsp;el-Bassa; BEZETHChurch name:&nbsp;Chapel (?)Functional Type:&nbsp;UnknownChurch type:&nbsp;Unknown
      Location
      Coordinates, ITM system:&nbsp;
  
    1,633.002,762.00  

Coordinates, ICS system:&nbsp;
  
    2,133.007,762.00  

Geographical region:&nbsp;Western GalileeTopographical location:&nbsp;In the southern industrial zone of Shlomi. In the western outskirts of the ruined Arab village el-Bassa, below the Muslim cemetery.Bishopric:&nbsp;Tyre
      Source of knowledge
      Epigraphy:&nbsp;HideEpigraphy
        
  
            Text number          
                  
            Summary          
              
    
            1          
                  
            Six-line fragmentary dated mosaic building inscription of Maroutha the priest (?), found during a salvage excavation in the southern industrial zone of Shelomi, from an unidentified religious building perhaps belonging to the same monastic complex, 567/568 (?).
          
              
            2          
                  
            Plaque of white marble with an imperial grant of asylum to an oratory of the prophet Zacharias, found on two separate occasions in the village of el-Bassa, from a ghost church perhaps belonging to the same monastic complex, late 6th cent.
          
              
      Archaeological remains
      Surveyed siteSurveyors:&nbsp;
 NameDate 

 Van de Velde1851-52 
 Tristram1865 
 Guérin1880 


Excavated siteExcavators:&nbsp;
 NameDate 

 Tahan2001 


History:&nbsp;Bezeth was a Jewish town. The Arab village el-Bassa, destroyed in 1948, was mostly Christian. The present town of Shlomi was built nearby.Bibliograpy:&nbsp;

 Van de Velde, C. W. M., 1854254 
 Tristram, H. B., 1866 
 Guérin, V., 1880II, 152-153 
 Tsafrir, Y., Di Segni, L. and Green, J., 199489 
 Frankel, R., Getzov, N. , Aviam, M. and Degani, A., 200117, sites 81, 82, 153; 114-116 
 Bagatti, B., 2001153-155 
 Tahan, H. and Syon, D., 2010 


Abbreviation for Journals and Series
      General description
      State of preservation/which parts were uncovered:&nbsp;A mosaic paved chamber with a 6 lines long dated Greek inscription&nbsp;in a rectangular frame, dated to 567/8 CE and&nbsp;identifying it as a holy place.The cross at the beginning of the inscription indicates that it is Christian. The axiality of the inscription differs than that of the mosaic carpet and the eastern wall of the chamber. Its identity as a chapel is possible, but not certain. Another Greek inscription, mentioning an oratory of the prophet Zacharias was found in the Arab village in the 19th c. (See under Epigraphy). Another Greek inscription, on a reliquary lid, was also found the Arab village, but its archaeological context is unknown.

      Description
      
      Small finds
      
      Architectural Evolution
      
 Phase name (as published)General outlineDating materialPhase no.CenturyWithin century 

 Stratum 2As in the General Description.The Greek mosaic inscription is dated to 567/8 CE.
A coin of Justinus II of 573/4.
6th-7th c. pottery.  
Phase 16th c.Second half 
 Samall amount of pottery of the 6th-7th c.
Abandonment7th c. 


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