Byzantine Church of Jabalia
  Shown within Gaza Strip  Byzantine Church of Jabalia (State of Palestine) | |
| Alternative name | Mukheitim[1] |
|---|---|
| Location | Palestine |
| Coordinates | 31°31′30″N 34°29′56″E / 31.5251°N 34.499°E |
| Type | Church |
| History | |
| Founded | 5th century |
| Abandoned | 8th century |
| Periods | Byzantine |
| Site notes | |
| Discovered | 1996 |
| Excavation dates | 1997 |
| Archaeologists |
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The Byzantine Church of Jabalia in the Gaza Strip, which today is the remains of a Christian basilica church, includes graves and mosaic floors surrounded by marble columns on an area of 850 square metres (9,100 sq ft), including 400 square metres (4,300 sq ft) paved with mosaics. The church was established in the 5th century and was used until the 8th century.
Location and early history
The church is located northeast of Gaza City, within the municipal boundaries of the city of Jabalia in the North Gaza Governorate, west of the Salah al-Din Road.[2] The church includes a number of inscriptions recording the names of those who contributed to the church. The earliest dates to 444 AD,[3] during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II (408–450). Another in the baptistry records the names of the artists who laid the mosaic floor in 548–49, Victor and Kosmas.[4] When the church was discovered, there was no known contemporary settlement nearby.[5]
Part of the mosaic pavement was laid at the start of the 8th century, dated by an original inscription. The mosaics were deliberately damaged by iconoclasts after 750, during the Abbasid period[5] (see Byzantine Iconoclasm and Muslim iconoclasm). It is one of 87 known iconoclast churches spread across Israel, Jordan, Palestine and Syria.[6] The church's decoration contains a large number of geometric and floral decorations, figure paintings, rural scenes, cooking utensils, domestic animals and predatory animals from Palestine and abroad, and various types of tuna. It also includes hunting scenes, rivers, and palm trees.
Discovery and preservation
In the 1990s, the World Bank and the governments of Denmark, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Switzerland funded rehabilitation projects in Palestine. The remains of the church were discovered in December 1996 during one such project: reconstruction works on the Salah al-Din Road.[7][3] Archaeological investigations followed as part of an international collaboration involving the École Biblique; the project was funded by the French Direction Générale des Relations Culturelles, Scientifiques et Techniques.[7][8] Yasser Matar and Ayman Hassuneh led the excavations for the Department of Antiquities in Gaza.[5]
The church has been damaged at various points during the Gaza–Israel conflict: in 2003, 2014, and 2021.[9] In 2010, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities installed a canopy to protect the mosaic floor from erosion. A restoration project involving international partner organisations began in 2019;[10] it was completed in January 2022 when the church reopened to the public.[11]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 YouTube video | |
 Reconstruction of how the church may have appeared in the 7th century, produced as part of a Première Urgence Internationale project |
In November 2023, a report by Heritage for Peace on the impact on cultural heritage sites of the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip included the church as a site that was completely destroyed by shelling.[12] In January 2025, archaeologist Fadel Al Utol reported that while there was debris at the archaeological site that the mosaics were still intact.[1]
Layout
The layout of the complex was inferred from the layout of the mosaic floors as the stone walls had long since been robbed out by the time the complex was rediscovered in the 20th century.[13] The church was part of a complex of buildings, of which the basilica church was the main element. Attached to it was a diakonikon, and beyond that a baptistry. The church measured 23 by 13 metres (75 by 43 ft) and consisted of a central nave flanked by aisles. The floor was covered by mosaics, the design of which included animal in scenes set in the countryside.[5]
See also
- Blakhiya Byzantine cemetery
- Destruction of cultural heritage during the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip
- List of archaeological sites in the Gaza Strip
References
- ^ a b "Heritage first: Archaeological update from Northern Gaza", Everyday Orientalism, 29 January 2025, ISSN 2635-215X, retrieved 5 February 2025
- ^ "وزارة السياحة والآثار الفلسطينية". وزارة السياحة والآثار الفلسطينية (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 15 April 2022. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
- ^ a b Cultural Heritage and Development: A Framework for Action in the Middle East and North Africa (PDF), The World Bank, 2001, p. 31, ISBN 9780821349380
- ^ Humbert, Jean-Baptiste; Abu Hassuneh, Yasser; Hassuneh, Aymân; Abu Muhammar, Mahmud (2000). "Mukheitem à Jabaliyah, un site byzantin" [Mukheitem at Jabaliyah, a Byzantine site]. Gaza Méditerranéenne: Histoire et archéologie en Palestine (in French). Éditions Errance. p. 125.
- ^ a b c d Humbert, Jean-Baptiste (1999). "The rivers of Paradise in the Byzantine Church near Jabaliyah – Gaza". In Piccirillo, Michele; Alliata, Eugenio (eds.). The Madaba Map Centenary 1897–1997: Travelling Through the Byzantine Umayyad Period. Collectio maior. Vol. 40. Jerusalem: Studium Biblicum Franciscanum. pp. 216–218. Archived from the original on 27 February 2009.
- ^ Reynolds, Daniel. "Rethinking Palestinian Iconoclasm". Dumbarton Oaks Papers. 71: 9–12. JSTOR 26497745.
- ^ a b Humbert, Jean-Baptiste; Abu Hassuneh, Yasser; Hassuneh, Aymân; Abu Muhammar, Mahmud (2000). "Mukheitem à Jabaliyah, un site byzantin" [Mukheitem at Jabaliyah, a Byzantine site]. Gaza Méditerranéenne: Histoire et archéologie en Palestine (in French). Éditions Errance. p. 121.
- ^ Cultural Heritage Preservation and Management in the MENA Region: Sector Review (PDF), The World Bank, 2000, p. 12
- ^ "المونيتور: ماذا فعل القصف الإسرائيلي في تراث غزة الإسلامي والمسيحي؟" [Al-Monitor: What did the Israeli bombardment do to Gaza's Islamic and Christian heritage?]. Shafaqna (in Arabic). 25 June 2021. Archived from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
- ^ Asad, Mohammed (2019-10-22). "Gazans piecing together remains of ancient church". Middle East Monitor. Retrieved 2025-01-08.
- ^ "Byzantine-era church reopens in Gaza". Middle East Monitor. 2022-01-26. Retrieved 2025-01-08.
- ^ Al-Barsh, Ahmed (2023-11-07), Report on the Impact of the Recent War in 2023 on the Cultural Heritage in Gaza Strip – Palestine (PDF), Heritage for Peace and the Arab Network of Civil Society Organizations to Safeguard Cultural Heritage, p. 31, archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-04-06, retrieved 2025-01-07
- ^ Humbert, Jean-Baptiste; Abu Hassuneh, Yasser; Hassuneh, Aymân; Abu Muhammar, Mahmud (2000). "Mukheitem à Jabaliyah, un site byzantin" [Mukheitem at Jabaliyah, a Byzantine site]. Gaza Méditerranéenne: Histoire et archéologie en Palestine (in French). Éditions Errance. p. 122.
Further reading
- Blanc-Bijon, Véronique; Blanc, Patrick (2017). "Discovery, preservation, and study of mosaic pavements in the Gaza territory". Palestinian Mosaic Art: Comparing Experiences. pp. 40–46.
- Reynolds, Daniel (2017). "Rethinking Palestinian Iconoclasm". Dumbarton Oaks Papers. 71: 1–64. ISSN 0070-7546. JSTOR 26497745.
External links
- Snaije, Olivia (25 January 2025). "The Past Is Being Destroyed in Palestine — As Well as the Present". New Lines Magazine. Retrieved 22 February 2025.