1/ When Mary, mother of Jesus, was on her way to Bethlehem with her husband Joseph, she felt she had to rest. So they stopped to rest on a rock on the side of the road, later a church was built there, which in time was destroyed. A #thread. >>
@nickfshort

2/ >> The church was known from historical testimonies of pilgrims in the Land of Israel, but it disappeared from the landscape and no one knew exactly where it was. The church remains were rediscovered by chance during work to expand Hebron Road in Jerusalem during the 1990s. >>

3/ >> Unlike other cases, the identification of the church in this case was easy. The Church of the Seat of Mary, or Kathisma, was built in an octagonal shape, & when the first remains were found, its location & shape made it clear that it was this church. >>

4/ >> The church was excavated during two salvage excavations in the 1990's, and after its exposure, the route of the Hebron Road, which was originally supposed to go over it, was changed. During the Second Temple Period there was a Jewish settlement there. >>

5/ >> The church was built in the Byzantine period, during the 5th century CE, around 456 AD. The octagonal structure of the church is divided into three areas, & in the center is the rock on which, according to tradition, Mary mother of Jesus, sat. >>

* Kathisma rock.

6/ >> The church is surrounded by pillars, & the floor of the church was made of marble and mosaics, some of which have been almost completely preserved. One mosaic shows a palm tree, which some scholars see as a symbol of the tree under which Mary rested. >>

7/ >>According to archeological finds, about a century after the construction of the church it was renovated, and then fell under the Muslim occupation in the 7th century CE. Following the Muslim conquest, the church became a mosque. >>

8/ >> The archeological evidence shows there was a Mihrab, a prayer alcove facing Mecca. In the 12th century the church was destroyed. Most of the church was excavated during the two excavation seasons and also underwent conservation work. >>

9/ >> The restoration consisted mainly of restoring the church walls in order to emphasize its special shape. The preservation did include treatment of the mosaics that were discovered, but these were covered over again with sand, to prevent damage from vandalism and weather. >>

10/ >> Like many other cases, today the site is neglected and untreated. Of course such neglect over time harms the ruins, and is most likely due to the lack, or argument, over budget.

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