Overview

Bibliography

Deir ‘Ain ‘Abata is the location of the Monastery of Saint Lot, which is labelled on the Madaba map, and the site is named for the spring at the base of the mountain. Despite its identification on the Madaba map, the site was not discovered until a survey in 1986 (though it seems to have been known by the local residents of nearby Safi). Nine seasons of excavation were carried out from 1988 through 2003, funded by the British Museum and the Greek and Jordanian governments, under the direction of Konstantinos Politis. “Saint Lot” is invoked in three Greek inscriptions found during the excavation, one of which is still in situ, confirming the site’s identification with the Monastery of Saint Lot.

Evidence of some form of habitation in the area of Deir ‘Ain ‘Abata can be traced back to the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze periods, attested by pottery scatters, including within the cave. During the Middle Bronze period, numerous cairn tombs were erected, and further burials around the spring date to the Nabatean period. But the architectural remains, which are associated with the monastery complex, date from the Byzantine period to the early Abbasid period (fifth through eighth century). The building complex consists of a triple-apsed basilica church built in front of a natural cave, an attached monastery with quarters for monks and pilgrims, and a large reservoir for storing water. The inscriptions on the church floor attest to several church leaders and the construction date of the building. The church appears to have been constructed in April 605, but was renovated again in May 691. In the monastery, however, occupation seems to have ended in the sixth century, suggesting that the church (and the reservoir) continued in use for as long as two centuries after the monastery. The site appears to have been peacefully abandoned in the early ninth century.