Omrit (), or Khirbat ‘Umayrī, is the site of an ancient

Roman temple Ancient Roman temples were among the most important buildings in Roman culture, and some of the richest buildings in Roman architecture, though only a few survive in any sort of complete state. Today they remain "the most obvious symbol of ...

in the Israel–Syria demilitarised zone. It is believed that Omrit was built by

Herod the Great Herod I (; ; grc-gre, ; c. 72 – 4 or 1 BCE), also known as Herod the Great, was a Roman Jewish client king of Judea, referred to as the Herodian kingdom. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea, including his renova ...

in honor of

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

around 20 BCE. The site was destroyed in the

Galilee earthquake of 363 The Galilee earthquake of 363 was a pair of severe earthquakes that shook the Galilee and nearby regions on May 18 and 19. The maximum perceived intensity for the events was estimated to be VII (''Very strong'') on the Medvedev–Sponheuer–Kar ...

; a small

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

was later built on its ruins in the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

period.

History

Omrit is situated atop a foothill of

Mount Hermon Mount Hermon ( ar, جبل الشيخ or جبل حرمون / ALA-LC: ''Jabal al-Shaykh'' ("Mountain of the Sheikh") or ''Jabal Haramun''; he, הַר חֶרְמוֹן, ''Har Hermon'') is a mountain cluster constituting the southern end of th ...

, overlooking Hula Lake. The site is located approximately 2.5 miles southwest of Banias, adjacent to a Roman road connecting Scythopolis and Damascus. According to the first-century historian

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...

, in addition to reconstructing he Second Temple in Jerusalem, Herod built another three temples: one in Caesarea Maritima, one in Sebastia, and one near Banias. Given Omrit's proximity to Banias and the presence of an ancient temple adorned with

Corinthian capitals The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order w ...

, it is very likely that Omrit is the site of the fourth temple built by Herod. After a brushfire cleared the area in 1998, archaeological excavations began, being led by Professor Andrew J. Overman of

Macalester College Macalester College () is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1874, Macalester is exclusively an undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 2,174 students in the fall of 2018 from 50 U.S. states, four U.S te ...

, with the assistance of nearby

Kfar Szold Kfar Szold ( he, כְּפַר סָאלְד, ''lit.'' Szold Village) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Hula Valley in the Galilee Panhandle, it falls under the jurisdiction of Upper Galilee Regional Council. In it had a population o ...

. The region was well trodden by Roman influence, and thus far excavations have yielded three phases of temple construction approximated at mid 1st century BCE, 20 BCE and 1st century CE. The temple compound, in the center of the hill, was connected to the road by way of a street lined with columns, as was customary in the eastern provinces of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

. It continued to be used into the Byzantine period. The remains of shops and installations such as a wine press, were discovered there.Horbat Omrit
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Gallery

File:Khirbet Umeiri, Nabi Huda and Khirbet el Aziziyat, in the Survey of Palestine map 20-29-Metulla-19XX (cropped).jpg, Khirbet Umeiri (today known as Omrit), alongside Nabi Huda and Khirbet el Aziziyat, in a 1930s

Survey of Palestine The Survey of Palestine was the government department responsible for the survey and mapping of Palestine during the British mandate period. The survey department was established in 1920 in Jaffa, and moved to the outskirts of Tel Aviv in 19 ...

map File:המקדש בעומרית 04.jpg, Horvat Omrit File:המקדש בעומרית 02.jpg, Horvat Omrit File:המקדש בעומרית והרחבה שלפניו 2.jpg, Horvat Omrit's courtyard File:Reconstruction of the Temple in Omrit, at the Israel Museum.jpg, Modern reconstruction of the temple in Omrit, Israel Museum

References

Bibliography

* J. Andrew Overman, Daniel N. Schowalter (eds.): ''The Roman Temple Complex at Horvat Omrit: An Interim Report.'' BAR International Series vol. 2205. Oxford: Archaeopress 2011. 978-1-4073-0763-3 * Michael C. Nelson (ed.): ''The Temple Complex at Horvat Omrit 1: The Architecture.'' The Brill Reference Library of Judaism vol. 45. Leiden/Boston: Brill 2015.

External links

Macalester Website

on http://www.biblewalks.com {{coord, 33, 13, 06, N, 35, 39, 47, E, type:city_scale:10000, display=title Archaeological sites in Israel Establishments in the Herodian kingdom Roman temples of the Imperial cult Buildings and structures completed in the 1st century BC 20 BC establishments

History

Gallery

See also

References

Bibliography

External links