Umm ar-Rasas mosaics

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 (Hagia-polis [Holy City])
Nablus (Neapolis)
Sebastia (Sebastis)
Caesarea
Lydda (Diospolis)
Eleutheropolis (Bayt Jibrin)
Ashkelon (Askalon)
Gaza

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

Outer frame, right (southern) side

Seven cities in Transjordan are shown in the frame:

Kastron Mefaa (Umm er-Rasas)
Philadelphia (Amman)
Madaba
Esbounta (Heshbon)
Belemounta (Ma'in)
Areopolis (Rabba)
Charachmoba (Al-Karak)

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

Limbon
Diblaton

Kastron Mefaa (Umm er-Rasas)
Philadelphia (Amman)
Madaba
Esbounta (Heshbon)
Belemounta (Ma'in)

Inner frame

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

Alexandria
Kasin (Ras Kouroun)
Thenesos
Tamiathis
Panau
Pelusium
Anticiaou(?)
Eraklion (either Heracleopolis Parva / Sethroë or Heracleion)
Cynopolis
Pseudostomon.

Alexandria
Kasin (Ras Kouroun)
Thenesos
Tamiathis
Panau
Pelusium
Anticiaou(?)
Eraklion
Cynopolis
Pseudostomon

References

^ Piccirillo 1988, pp. 208–231.
^ 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.