Umm elRassas

30 kilometers (19 miles) in the southeast of Madaba, almost equidistant between the Desert Highway and the King’s Highway, you arrive at the spectacular ruins of Umm el-Rassas.The site, located in a elevated position, is seen some distance away. Umm el-Rassas was an ancient encampment comprising an assortment of buildings, surrounded by a substantial stone wall. The mid- 1980s saw the beginning of an international excavation project in the area. The settlement of Umm el-Rassas was authenticated as the once-famed community of Kastrone Mefaa, referred to in the Bible. It is hard to imagine a more complex layout. The combination of four churches inter-linked in such ingenious manner is breath taking. The northernmost shrine had its floor laid in AD 587, when Bishop Sergius was resident at Madaba. Sadly, many of the figures depicted were vandalized by iconoclasts in the later years. Between the church of St Stephen and that of Bishop Sergius, a courtyard, floored with flagstones, had an apse and roof added to transform it into another chapel. A set of stairs joined the two main churches; St Stephen’s being a full meter higher than that of Bishop Sergius. On either sides of St Stephen’s altar a passage of text indicates that the mosaic work around the altar was finished in AD 756, by two men: Staurachios and Euremios. However, it was not until AD 785 that St Stephen’s floor was fully completed. The mosaic is unusual for many reasons, among which are its double frame and extensive representations of Palestinian cities. The spiritual community at Umm el-Rassas upholds the suggestion that an artistic colony remained active until at least the end of the 8th century. Unexplained features at Umm el-Rassas make it fascinating for the visitor and archaeologist alike.The watchtower , 1.300meters (1.422yards) north of the settlement, crafted in the Byzantine period, stands 14 meters (46 feet) high. Some say that it was used to spy out intruders raiding the community’s water cisterns or valuables. But in 1987 the remains of yet another chapel were unearthed at the column’s foot. It gives some credibility to the idea that the tower was designed as rostrum for meditative activities. The fact that there are no stairs leading to the domed chamber at the top further suggests the tower had an altogether more apocalyptic use.