Old Ground Plan - New Insights: The Central Church Compound in Shivta Revised

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Abstract

The three monumental churches of the Byzantine site of Shivta in the Negev Desert were fully excavated in the first third of the 20th century. Lacking the original archaeological reports, discussion of them has been based mostly on contemporary observations of the ruins. The Central Church, situated in the center of the village and surrounded by houses, has received the least scholarly attention of the three churches. Recently recovered data, including its ground plan executed by Colt’s expedition in 1937, and archival materials published here for the first time, enabled re-examination of the Central Church structure within the compound, its history, date, and identification of the function of some of the rooms. Analysis of old and new data led us to propose an updated plan of the Central Church complex. Accordingly, new insights are proposed regarding the place of the church within the village, its neighboring domestic structures, its relation to the other two churches of Shivta, and the layout of the site.

Original languageEnglish
JournalPalestine Exploration Quarterly
DOIs
StatePublished - 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© Palestine Exploration Fund 2024.

Keywords

  • Byzantine period; Byzantine archaeology; Church architecture; Holy Land; Shivta; Colt’s excavation in Shivta; Archival research
  • Central Church

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Archaeology
  • History
  • Visual Arts and Performing Arts
  • Religious studies
  • Archaeology

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