Umm ar-Rasas mosaics

Mosaic at the Church of St. Stephen, Umm ar-Rasas
Mosaic at the Church of St. Stephen, Umm ar-Rasas

The Umm ar-Rasas mosaics are a number of Byzantine mosaics discovered by Michele Piccirillo in the ruins of the Church of St. Stephen in Umm ar-Rasas, Jordan, in 1986.[1][2]

Of particular note is a mosaic floor dated to 785, the largest one in Jordan, with a series of panels illustrating the most important cities of the region.

Town mosaic

Outer frame, left (northern) side

A series of eight cities in Palestine are shown in the frame:

  • Jerusalem
    Jerusalem
  • Nablus
    Nablus
  • Sebastia
    Sebastia
  • Caesarea
    Caesarea
  • Lydda
    Lydda
  • Eleutheropolis (Bayt Jibrin)
    Eleutheropolis (Bayt Jibrin)
  • Ashkelon
    Ashkelon
  • Gaza
    Gaza

Outer frame, right (southern) side

Seven cities in Transjordan are shown in the frame:

Two additional cities are shown at the head of each aisle:

  • Limbon
  • Diblaton

Inner frame

The inner frame includes illustrations of ten cities in the Nile Delta:

See also

References

  1. ^ Piccirillo 1988, pp. 208–231.
  2. ^ Piccirillo & Attiyat 1986, pp. 341–352.

Bibliography

  • Piccirillo, Michele; Attiyat, Taysir (1986). "The Complex of Saint Stephen at Umm er-Rasas-Kastron Mefaa. First Campaign, August 1986". Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan. 30. Department of Antiquities, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.: 341–352. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
  • Piccirillo, Michele (1988). "The Mosaics at Um er-Rasas in Jordan". The Biblical Archaeologist. 51 (4). The American Schools of Oriental Research: 208–231. doi:10.2307/3210072. ISSN 0006-0895. JSTOR 3210072. S2CID 192366752. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  • Balty, Janine (1998). "Les mosaïques d'Umm al-Rasas et la date de 718 - MICHELE PICCIRILLO, EUGENIO ALLIATA, et al., UMM AL-RASAS, MAYFA'AH I: GLI SCAVI DEL COMPLESSO DI SANTO STEFANO (Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Collectio Maior 28; Jerusalem, 1994). Pp. 376, figg. 319, 35 pl. coul., 62 figg. coul., 3 plans dépliants". Journal of Roman Archaeology. 11. Cambridge University Press (CUP): 700–702. doi:10.1017/s104775940001789x. ISSN 1047-7594. S2CID 250349440.
  • Eckersley, Tracey (2016). Putting Christians on the map : topographic mosaics from late antique Jordan as representations of authority and status (Thesis). University of Louisville. doi:10.18297/etd/2484.