Tell Umm el-'Amr, also known as Tell Umm Amer, is an archaeological site located in the

Nuseirat refugee camp Nuseirat Camp () is a Palestinian refugee camp located in the middle of the Gaza Strip, five kilometers north-east of Deir al-Balah. The refugee camp is in the Deir al-Balah Governorate, Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of ...

Deir al-Balah Governorate The Deir al-Balah Governorate ( '), also referred to as Central Gaza Governorate () is one of 16 Governorates of Palestine in the central Gaza Strip which is administered by Hamas aside from its border with Israel, airspace, and maritime territ ...

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

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Location

Tell Umm el-ʿAmr is located in the dune landscapes south of the mouth of the Wadi Ghazzeh in the area of the Al Nusairat refugee camp, about 5.28 miles south of Gaza City. The distance to the Mediterranean coast is 1000–2000 feet. In the east and southeast of the Tell Umm el-'Amr site, there are palm groves that form a border with the neighboring town of

Deir al-Balah Deir al-Balah or Deir al Balah () is a city in the center of the Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the administrative capital of the Deir al-Balah Governorate. It is located over south of Gaza City. The city had a population of 75,132 in 2017. The ci ...

. The archaeological site covers an area of approximately 46000 square feet.

History

Uncovered by local archaeologists in 1999, the Tell Umm el-'Amr site was active from the 4th to the 8th century and contains Christian artifacts. Currently, the site consists of the monastery of Saint Hilarion; as well as religious buildings (e.g. church, cloister) and all the outbuildings necessary for the life of the monks (e.g. miscellaneous room, dormitory). Additionally, the archaeologists found a hotel complex and baths probably used by visiting pilgrims at the site. The Saint Hilarion Monastery is dedicated to Hilarion of Gaza and is nominated as a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

world heritage site.

Preservation and protection

In 2013, fundraising was launched in order to be able to carry out excavations on the site and put in place protection measures. The British Council's Cultural Protection Fund funded a conservation programme at Tell Umm el-'Amr. In 2024, a request for UNESCO world heritage status was submitted. Following their addition in July 2024, both Tell Umm el-'Amr and Saint Hilarion Monastery were included on the

List of World Heritage in Danger The List of World Heritage in Danger is compiled by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) through the World Heritage Committee according to Article 11.4 of the World Heritage Convention,Full title: ''Conv ...

by UNESCO.

References

External links

* {{World Heritage Sites in Jerusalem and Palestine Archaeological sites in the Gaza Strip World Heritage Sites in Palestine World Heritage Sites in Danger