Umm el-Umdan (Arabic for 'Mother of Pillars') or Khirbet Umm el-Umdan (khirbet = ruins of) is a Jewish archaeological site within the municipal boundaries of the Israeli city of Modi'in,[2] between the city of Modi'in and Latrun. Archaeological excavations at the site discovered the remains of a Jewish village. The findings show that the place was inhabited during the Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Early Muslim periods.[2][3] The village was destroyed during the Bar Kokhba revolt.[2]
The Arabic name of the site, Khirbet el 'Eumdan or Khirbet Umm el-‘Umdan, means 'mother of columns', named after the remains visible at the site.[4][1]
Archaeological findings
French archaeologist Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau visited the site in 1873 and suggested the ruins were the remains of a church.[4]Rescue excavations were carried out at the site between 2000 and 2003 ahead of the planned construction of residential buildings for Modi'in.[1]
The excavations conducted at the site since 2001 revealed mainly the remains of a Second Temple period Jewish village. The village was established in the 4th or 3rd century BC and continued up to the Bar Kokhba revolt, The archaeological findings include narrow streets, remains of buildings, ritual baths, rock-cut tombs and a synagogue.[2][5] After the Bar Kokhba revolts the top part of the site reveals evidence of terraces, winepresses and burial caves from the late Roman and Byzantine periods. The lower part of the site was used as a burial area in the late Muslim period.[clarification needed][2]
Synagogue
It was first built during the Hasmonean period and stood between the end of the 2nd and the late 1st century BCE, when it was rebuilt during the Herodian period.[6][3] The synagogue of the late Roman period was destroyed in the Bar Kokhba revolt.[2]
The Umm el-Umdan synagogue should not be confused with a second 1st-century BCE synagogue discovered at nearby Qiryat Sefer/Modi'in Illit at the site of Khirbet Badd 'Isa, on the Ascent of Beth-Horon (see here and here).
Findings
Two column rows with 4 columns on each side, whose bases were unearthed, split the later-phase synagogue into three naves. Underneath this late structure, the remains of a Hasmonean-period structure were found, probably also a synagogue and beneath it, the remains of a smaller building from the Hellenistic period.[2][7]
Mikveh
The mikveh at Umm el-Umdan
West of the synagogue a mikve was discovered, dated to the Herodian period (the second phase of the synagogue).[2][6] During the Hasmonean period (the first phase of the synagogue) there was already a sitting bath in the courtyard;[6] it seems that during the Hasmonean period there was a bath in the courtyard west to the synagogue.[2]
Burial caves
Burial complexes dating to the Second Temple period were found to the east and south of the village.[5]
Umm el-Umdan is regarded as one of the potential locations of the ancient Jewish village of Modi'in, which is known to have been situated in the area of modern Modi'in, though its exact position has never been definitively determined.[2] This theory has been supported by excavators Shlomit Wexler-Bdolah, Alexander Onn, and Yehuda Rapuano, who suggest that the name "Umm el-Umdan" may preserve the name Modi'in.[8][9][10] However, the name, meaning "the mother of columns" in Arabic, also appears in other locations within Israel.[11] Alternative theories propose other sites, including Tell er-Ras, Khirbet el-Hammam (Khirbet Midiyeh), and Giv'at Tittora.[11]
↑ Onn, A., Weksler-Bdolah, S., and Rapuano Y., A synagogue from the Second Temple Period at Hurvat Umel-'Umdan in Modiin’, in Y. Eshel, E. Netzer, D. Amit, and D. Cassuto, (eds.), And Let Them Make Me A Sanctuary: Synagogues from Ancient Times to the Present Day, Ariel: The College of Judaea and Samaria. 2004. pp 25-29
↑ Onn, A., and Weksler-Bdolah, S., Khirbet Um el-Umdan– A Jewish village with a synagogue from the Second Temple Period at Modiin. Qadmoniot 130. 2005. pp. 107-116 (Hebrew).
↑ Weksler-Bdolah, S., Onn, A., and Rapuano, Y., Identifying the Hasmonaean village of Modiin’, Cathedra 109. 2003. pp. 69-86 (Hebrew)
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