Umm el-Umdan (Arabic for 'Mother of Pillars') or Khirbet Umm el-Umdan (khirbet = ruins of) is a Jewish archaeological site within the municipal boundaries of the Israeli city of Modi'in,[2] between the city of Modi'in and Latrun. Archaeological excavations at the site discovered the remains of a Jewish village. The findings show that the place was inhabited during the Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Early Muslim periods.[2][3] The village was destroyed during the Bar Kokhba revolt.[2]
אום אל עומדן | |
 | |
  Shown within Israel | |
| Location | Israel |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 31°53′02″N 34°59′48″E / 31.88389°N 34.99667°E |
| Type | Settlement, synagogue |
| History | |
| Periods | Second Temple period (Hellenistic with Hasmonean period, Early Roman period); Late Roman, Byzantine and Early Muslim periods |
| Cultures | Jewish |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 2000–2003 |
| Archaeologists | Alexander Onn and Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah[1] |
| Condition | In ruins |
| Public access | Yes |
Etymology
editThe Arabic name of the site, Khirbet el 'Eumdan or Khirbet Umm el-‘Umdan, means 'mother of columns', named after the remains visible at the site.[4][1]
Archaeological findings
editFrench archaeologist Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau visited the site in 1873 and suggested the ruins were the remains of a church.[4] Rescue excavations were carried out at the site between 2000 and 2003 ahead of the planned construction of residential buildings for Modi'in.[1]
The excavations conducted at the site since 2001 revealed mainly the remains of a Second Temple period Jewish village. The village was established in the 4th or 3rd century BC and continued up to the Bar Kokhba revolt, The archaeological findings include narrow streets, remains of buildings, ritual baths, rock-cut tombs and a synagogue.[2][5] After the Bar Kokhba revolts the top part of the site reveals evidence of terraces, winepresses and burial caves from the late Roman and Byzantine periods. The lower part of the site was used as a burial area in the late Muslim period.[clarification needed][2]
Synagogue
editIt was first built during the Hasmonean period and stood between the end of the 2nd and the late 1st century BCE, when it was rebuilt during the Herodian period.[6][3] The synagogue of the late Roman period was destroyed in the Bar Kokhba revolt.[2]
The Umm el-Umdan synagogue should not be confused with a second 1st-century BCE synagogue discovered at nearby Qiryat Sefer/Modi'in Illit at the site of Khirbet Badd 'Isa, on the Ascent of Beth-Horon (see here and here).
Findings
editTwo column rows with 4 columns on each side, whose bases were unearthed, split the later-phase synagogue into three naves. Underneath this late structure, the remains of a Hasmonean-period structure were found, probably also a synagogue and beneath it, the remains of a smaller building from the Hellenistic period.[2][7]
Mikveh
edit
West of the synagogue a mikve was discovered, dated to the Herodian period (the second phase of the synagogue).[2][6] During the Hasmonean period (the first phase of the synagogue) there was already a sitting bath in the courtyard;[6] it seems that during the Hasmonean period there was a bath in the courtyard west to the synagogue.[2]
Burial caves
editBurial complexes dating to the Second Temple period were found to the east and south of the village.[5] The most notable one was discovered 100 meters east of the village. A luxurious burial complex that was used during the Hasmonean period pre-dating the use of ossuaries up to the 1st century CE when ossuaries were already in use. The finding indicate that burial customs are the same as seen in Hasmonean burial complexes in Jerusalem, Jason's Tomb and[citation needed] even Tomb of Shahin.[8][irrelevant citation]
Identification
editThe location of the Hasmonean village of Modi'in was never firmly established.[2] Today, researches suggest that based on the archaeological finding at Umm el-Umdan it can be identified as the village of Modi'in. Furthermore, its location almost perfectly matches the location seen in the Madaba map.[2]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Onn, Alexander; Weksler-Bdolah, Shlomit (2008). "Umm el-'Umdan, Khirbet (Modi'in)". The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land. Vol. 5: Supplementary Volume. Israel Exploration Society/Biblical Archaeology Society (BAS). Retrieved 2024-08-23 – via BAS Library.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Weksler-Bdolach, Shlomit; Onn, Alexander; Rapuano, Yehuda (2003). "לשאלת זיהויה של מודיעין, עירם של החשמונאים" [Identifying the Hasmonean Village of Modi'in]. Cathedra: For the History of Eretz Israel and Its Yishuv (in Hebrew) (109): 69–86. ISSN 0334-4657. JSTOR 23405629.
- ^ a b Onn, Alexander. "The Ancient Synagogue in Modi'in". Atiqot - Online Edition. Archived from the original on 7 July 2024. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
- ^ a b Clermont-Ganneau, Charles (1896). Archaeological researches in Palestine during the years 1873–1874 Vol. II. Translated by Macfarlane, John. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. p. 82.
- ^ a b Onn, Alexander; Weksler-Bdolach, Shlomit (27 July 2006). "ח' אום אל-עומדאן" [Kh[irbet] Umm el-Umdan]. Hadashot Arkheologiyot (in Hebrew) (118). Retrieved 2024-07-03.
- ^ a b c Hachlili, Rachel (2013). "1.6: Modi'in–Hurvat el-Umdan". Ancient Synagogues – Archaeology and Art: New Discoveries and Current Research. BRILL. p. 34. ISBN 978-9004257726. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ Weksler-Bdolach, Shlomit (2014). "ח' אום אל-עומדאן" [Kh[irbet] Umm el-Umdan: Final Report]. Hadashot Arkheologiyot (in Hebrew) (126). Retrieved 2024-07-03.
- ^ Rahmani, L. Y. (1958). "A Jewish Tomb on Shahin Hill, Jerusalem". Israel Exploration Journal. 8 (2): 101–105. ISSN 0021-2059. JSTOR 27924730.