Between 1997 in addition to 2013, the Finnish Jabal Haroun Project (FJHP) has carried out archaeological excavations at a Byzantine monastery located on the high plateau of the Jabal Haroun Mountain, only about 5km south-west of Petra.
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| Ruins of the Byzantine monastery close the give of Jabal Haroun [Credit: Zbigniew Fiema] |
“The FJHP was designed every bit an interdisciplinary investigation of spatial in addition to temporal variations inward human business inward the Jabal Haroun area, focusing on the business at the monastery,” said FJHP primary archeologist Zbigniew Fiema, who worked nether the administration of Jaakko Frösén, adding that the projection besides studied the palaeoenvironmental variations, ancient agriculture, resources exploitation in addition to the communication organization inward the area.
The beingness of the monastery exemplifies exclusively a purpose of the whole spectrum of the religious significance attributed to the mount since Nabataean times, piece continuing good into the Islamic period, the scholar explained, highlighting that the excavations revealed that the site was initially occupied past times a Nabataean sanctuary, a cistern, a triclinium in addition to other rooms.
“The Nabataean religious complex featured a clearly unlike orientation [northeastern-southwestern] than that of the succeeding Byzantine monastery [north-south],” Fiema maintained, adding“ It is most likely that the Nabataean sanctuary originated inward the 1st century BC/AD, continued throughout the Roman stream in addition to therefore its components were incorporated, alongside modifications, into the Byzantine monastery built inward the subsequently fifth century”.
The results of the FJHP excavations indicated that the monastery included a monoapsidal basilica alongside next chapel in addition to associated alongside several rooms, a hostel quarter in addition to courtyards, forming a large enclosed rectangle, the scholar continued.
“Apparently, 1 of the religious phenomena associated alongside the ascension of Early Christianity inward the Near East — the transformation of a heathen cultic house into a sacred, Biblical place — had taken house at Jabal Haroun. The Byzantine monastic middle which incorporated the before Nabataean remains, had a memorial grapheme clearly associated alongside pilgrimages,” the archeologist underscored.
Consequently, the church building was richly decorated alongside marble furnishings, drinking glass wall mosaics in addition to the mosaic flooring inward the narthex. "The church building in addition to the chapel underwent several phases of re-modelling, next episodes of destruction, in all likelihood of seismic nature. The ecclesiastical business of the church building ended past times the belatedly eighth century in addition to the chapel past times the ninth but other structures were in all likelihood all the same inward utilization past times the Crusader period,” Fiema continued.
The results of the FJHP investigations stressed the importance of the Jabal Haroun site inward the context of the history of Petra in addition to Jordan, according to Fiema, who said: “This site, therefore pregnant for Judaism, Christianity in addition to Islam, every bit good every bit for the Nabataean history in addition to religion, existed, in all likelihood without major interruption, for only about 1,000 years in addition to it produced a wealth of archaeological information in addition to fabric civilisation remains.”
“Furthermore, this site provided a unique chance to fully written report in addition to translate a consummate monastic institution inward damage of its architecture, phases of development, daily life, economic scheme in addition to other activities,” he pointed out, adding that the finds included quantities of ceramics, glass, marble furnishing, metallic objects, coins in addition to inscriptions.
“Generally, the finds attested to the wealth of the artistic evolution nether the Byzantine rule, in addition to its continuity inward the Early Islamic period. Thus the overall significance of this monastic complex inward the perspective of the ascension of Christianity non exclusively inward Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan but besides inward the entire Near East should besides survive emphasised," Fiema concluded.
Author: Saeb Rawashdeh | Source: The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Times [August 21, 2018]
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