Gary A. Byers
The Byzantines were prolific builders throughout Palestine. They preserved the names and identities of many significant Biblical sites, providing an important line of evidence for modem archaeological investigation.
The Byzantine period (AD 324–640) represented Palestine’s greatest population density prior to the 19th century. This
The site of Peter’s house at Capernaum is marked today by a modern church. Ancient references and archaeological evidence bolster the identification of a first century house here as that of Peter. It was located only 40 m (130 ft) south of Capernaum’s ancient synagogue (see Mark
The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem was one of four monumental churches constructed under the direction of Constantine and his mother Helena. It was constructed over a cave that had an early tradition as the site of Christ’s birth. Evidence of that initial church can still be seen in the mosaic floors within the nave.
BSP 12:3 (Summer 1999) p. 82
The octagonal Byzantine church over Peter’s house at Capernaum. While the site was a house compound in the first century AD, the central structure was later made into religious shrine. In the Byzantine period a church was constructed above the earlier
period was named after the Turkish city of Byzantium, capital of the eastern Roman Empire under Constantine. Byzantium was renamed Constantinople (today known as Istanbul) by Constantine. Palestine’s Byzantine period began with Constantine’s rule as the Roman Emperor (AD 324) and ended with the Moslem invasion of the region (AD 640).
Even though it is after the Biblical period, and a time in which the church became highly institutionalized, the Byzantine period is still important to Biblical studies—especially in relation to geography and religious architecture. Religious structures helped identify and preserve the locations, names and traditions of many Old and New Testament sites.
Christianity’s earliest church buildings were constructed during this time. In New Testament times churches were primarily associated with houses (Rom 16:5, 1 Cor 16:19, Col 4:15, Phlm 2). Called domus ecclesia (Greek “house churches”), a few have been identified in archaeology. This includes Peter’s house-turned-shrine (with the later Byzantine church built above it) at Capernaum (Mk 1:29). Apparently a typical first century AD village house with several buildings inside a walled compound, it became a shrine prior to construction of the octagonal Byzantine church above the remains of the house.
Mar Saba monastery located in the Judean Desert on the cliffs of the Kidron Valley, about 12 km (7 mi) east of Bethlehem.
A Roman-style house turned into a church during the third century AD was found in Dura Europos along the Euphrates in Syria. The modest nature of this house-church suggests the congregation was neither large nor wealthy.
The important distinction between these house churches and later churches is that they were originally constructed as homes. Only later were they converted into churches for public worship. Prior to Constantine very few structures were constructed specifically for public worship. Only known outside the Holy Land proper, such churches were constructed in Rome (AD 315), Tyre (AD 314) and possibly Aqaba, Jordan. The latter, discovered last year, was dated to the late third century AD (see Bible and Spade, Spring 1998: 48–51).
During the Byzantine period, Christianity underwent a dramatic change. Now an official religion throughout the Roman Empire, and with special encouragement by Constantine, major religious architectural projects were undertaken around the Mediterranean. At least three churches were constructed in Rome, but church construction was particularly accelerated in the Holy Land.
Beginning in AD 326, under the auspices of Emperor Constantine and his mother Helena, four churches were constructed in Palestine. Three were obvious choices from the life of Christ: the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, and the ascension site Eleona Church on the Mount of Olives (from elaeonos, “olive grove” in Greek). The fourth church at Mamre (Hebron) was dedicated to Christ’s Old Testament manifestation there (Gn 18: 1). With royal encouragement, additional churches commemorating Old and New Testament holy places were soon constructed all over the country.
Most Byzantine churches were built on the plan of the familiar Roman civic building. Used for public, private and sacred purposes, it was called “basilica” (from the Greek word “royal”). It included a rectangular central hall (nave) with rows of interior pillar roof supports, side aisles, and a raised platform (chancel) including an apse. Churches constructed in the basilical style regularly placed the apse on the east and a triple main entrance on the west. Later Byzantine
BSP 12:3 (Summer 1999) p. 83
The famous Madaba map is actually the mosaic floor of St. George Greek Orthodox Church. The surviving sections from the floor of this sixth century AD Byzantine church in Madaba, Jordan, represents less than 40% of the complete map. Identifying sites by inscription (in Greek) and pictogram, extant portions extend in the north from the Jordan River midway between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea to the Araba south of the Dead Sea. It also extends from the Mediterranean Sea on the west to the Jordanian plateau in the east. Even the Nile Delta is pictured in the map’s southwest corner. Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron and “Sanctuary of Holy L.. .” (evidently the site of the Byzantine monastery at Lot’s Cave) are all identified.
basilica-style churches added two extra apses, totaling three on the east.
Some churches were constructed to commemorate special holy locations. Emphasizing the structure’s center, these churches were constructed on circular, octagonal, square or cruciform plans. The Byzantine church over Peter’s house and the recently discovered Church of the Kathisma outside Bethlehem (see Associates for Biblical Research Newsletter 29.1, 1998) are octagonal examples of such churches.
In the Byzantine period, bishops were encouraged to construct more elaborate structures befitting the faith’s new status. Outwardly, these structures continued to be modest in appearance, while inside they became quite ornate, fulfilling the royal urgings.
After construction of the original large Constantinian churches, most of Palestine’s churches were small and modest. Designed to serve rural and urban congregations as well as monasteries, every village had a church by the end of the Byzantine period and many towns had more than one.
In addition to the wide construction of churches in the Holy Land, monasteries were also popular in the region. Focusing in the Judean desert, they were home to monks living under vows and hostels for visiting pilgrims. The first monasteries served a community of recluses living in isolation during the week and meeting for common prayer on weekends. Established in desert areas, they settled where mountain cliffs provided caves and natural rock cover in reasonable proximity to nearby settlements. Monasteries where monks lived in their own cells (usually caves) away from the central chapel were called laura (Latin for “path”), named for the paths leading from the cells to the chapel.
The coenobium-type monastery became popular in the late fifth century AD. Coenobium (Latin for “communal life”; from Greek koinos bios) monasteries were usually surrounded by a perimeter wall and included a chapel, refectory, sleeping quarters, service areas and even hostel for visiting pilgrims. Monks lived and worked together daily.
Did Lot Sleep Here?
The floor of St. George Greek Orthodox Church, a sixth century AD basilica-type Byzantine church in Madaba, Jordan, is covered with an ancient map of the Holy Land. Biblical sites are identified by Greek inscriptions and often depicted with red tile roofed churches and monasteries. At the south-eastern edge of the Dead Sea the map shows a site identified
BSP 12:3 (Summer 1999) p. 84
as the “Sanctuary of Holy Lot.” Sitting in the mountains of Moab, it is close to a town identified as Zoar.
In the 1980’s, archaeologists believed they located this site and excavated a Byzantine monastery in the vertical face of the mountain cliff. The complex includes a chapel, refectory, water reservoir, communal cemetery and hostel. In the northernmost of the chapel’s three apses is the entrance to a cave in the mountain. Two inscriptions mention Lot, confirming that it is the site on the Madaba Map. See the report by the site’s excavator, K.T. Politis, in this issue.
With ABR dig photographer Michael Luddeni, I toured the Monastery of Lot last year. The Jordanian government has spent considerable resources preparing the site for major tourism, although it was closed to the public when we arrived. Located high up in the mountainside, it was impressive and very difficult to reach without the benefit of the new access road for cars and walking path for visitors.
Beyond its amazing construction on the sheer mountain cliff, and its amazing view of the southern Dead Sea valley, the most intriguing aspect of the complex was the cave entered from the northern apse. While the entrance of the cave was paved with mosaics, most of it was left in its natural state. Beyond broken pieces of Byzantine pottery, archaeologists found pottery from as far back as the Early Bronze Age—the period of Abraham and Lot. This suggests the cave, high up in the mountain cliff, was occupied during that period. The monastery is situated about 7 km (4 mi) from Safi, the site identified on the Madaba Map as Zoar, the city God spared in the destruction (Gn 19:20–23).
Thus, in the region of Sodom and Gomorrah, a cave inhabited during the general period of Abraham and Lot was identified by the Byzantines as the cave Lot and his daughters stayed in after the destruction of Sodom and the Cities of the Plain (Gn 19:30–38).
The Deir of Deir Dibwan
The Palestinian village of Deir Dibwan has long been associated with the ancient city of Ai. The modem village sits at the foot of a 27 acre Early Bronze Age (3000–2400 BC) tell generally identified with “the ruin” (hāʿay in Hebrew) of Abraham’s day (Gn 12:8). Yet the Deir (Arabic for monastery) of Deir Dibwan has never been identified.
Explorers from the last century mention visiting a church at Khirbet el-Maqatir, 1 km (0.7 mi) west of et-Tell. A local tradition also associated the church with Joshua’s capture of Ai. Yet, when we first arrived at the site in 1995, there was little evidence for the church on the surface. So it was very exciting in 1998, when Khirbet el-Maqatir dig architect Leen Ritmeyer examined the ruins and identified numerous elements
The church of the Monastery of Lot’s Cave. The church has three apses, with the chancel and nave flanked by rows of pillars attached to the central apse. The doorway in the left apse leads to the cave.
BSP 12:3 (Summer 1999) p. 85
One of the many mosaic floors at Khirbet Nisya. Each mosaic is composed of thousands of cut stone cubes called tesserae (“four” in Greek for the four corners in the cube) set in cement. Typical mosaic floors are composed of plain white limestone tesserae, while the most famous mosaic floors (like the Madaba map) have colored designs in them. Even the colored stones are naturally tinted (or occasionally glass) and never painted. Mosaic floors were found in monasteries, wealthy homes, and even in wine and oil presses.
ments of a collective-type monastery. This identification suggests that the monastery (Deir) of Deir Dibwan (Dibwan may come from an Arabic root meaning “gathering”) was probably located at Khirbet el-Maqatir.
Ritmeyer, who has drawn plans and reconstructions for most of the region’s 60 plus monasteries, is preparing a plan of the monastery complex and it will appear shortly in a coming issue of Bible and Spade. For now, to get the latest on the excavations, and to see a 19th century plan of the monastery, see the article by Todd Bolen in this issue.
Another Forgotten Monastery?
At ABR’s other excavation site, Khirbet Nisya, there may be evidence of another forgotten monastery. Khirbet Nisya (“Forgotten Ruin” in Arabic), has many ruins from the Byzantine period, including numerous mosaic floors. This raises the possibility of a monastery, church or at least a wealthy agricultural villa from the period. See David Livingston’s report of this year’s excavation at Khirbet Nisya in this issue.
The Byzantines of Palestine were busy people. While all remains from the Byzantine period do not represent religious activity or even religious people, the region was filled with churches, monasteries, monks and pilgrims who were seriously concerned for Biblical things. We are indebted to them for the landmarks they left across Palestine.
Bibliography
Finegan, J.
1992 The Archaeology of the New Testament. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Hirschfeld, Y.
1993 Monasteries and Churches in the Judean Desert in the Byzantine Period. Pp. 149–54 in Ancient Churches Revealed, ed. Y. Tsafrir. Washington DC: Biblical Archaeology Society.
Tsafrir, Y.
1993 Ancient Churches in the Holy Land. Biblical Archaeology Review 19.5: 26–39.