Summary information
GPS coordinates: 32.77578, 35.53951
Structure is visible in Google maps.
- “This was a large basilica, with walls of well-cut basalt stone. The length of the church from west to east was 48 meters (157 feet), and its breadth from north to south 28 meters (92 feet). The church was made up of a prayer hall, and a forecourt (atrium) containing a large cistern with a ceiling supported by four stone arches. The cistern, with a capacity of 300 cubic meters (about 400 cubic yards), collected winter rainwater for the use of the permanent community. The church complex included living quarters, apparently of a small monastic community, whose task it was to care for the church, conduct its rites, and serve the pilgrims that visited it. Remains of an oil-press were found next to the outer wall, indicating that the monks were involved in olive cultivation and the manufacture of its oil, which was their traditional occupation throughout the country at the time” (Hirschfeld 1994: 126).
Built in the 6th century, possibly in reaction to the Samaritan revolt (529-531).
Yizhar Hirschfeld. “The Anchor Church at the Summit of Mt. Berenice, Tiberias.” The Biblical Archaeologist Sep., 1994, Vol. 57, No. 3 (Sep., 1994), pp. 122-133. Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3210407
—–, Excavation at Tiberias, 1989-1994, Jerusalem, 2004.
Characteristics
- Tri-apsidal
- Π-shaped chancel (possibly Τ-shaped)
- Synthronon
- Anchor stone under the altar (reliquary?)
- West entrances (three)
- South entrances from side rooms/chapels
- Attached north room to the east
- Attached north room to the west
- [none]
Constantinopolitan
- Protruding apse
- Entrances from the east on either side of the apse
- Π-shaped chancel
- Multiple entrances on all sides
- Ambo on the south
- Exterior chapel to the north
Syrian
- Π-shaped chancel
- Inscribed mono-apsidal
- Room on both sides of the apse
- West entrance
- Ambo on south
- Baptistry in room south of the apse or in the south aisle
- Separate south chapel
- South entrances from side rooms/chapels
Roman
- Τ-shaped or bar-shaped chancel
- Tri-apsidal unusually inscribed
- Altars in the side apses
- Relics and Reliquaries
- Ambo to the north
- Baptistry outside off the atrium or the north aisle
- Marble furnishings (high status imperial association) and imported fine wares
- Decorative elements on chancel screens [specify]
- Separate north chapel
Syrian to Roman conversion
- Τ-shaped or bar-shaped chancel replacing Π-shaped chancel
- Side apses inserted into rooms adjacent to the main apse
- Separate north chapel (suppressed south chapel)
- Liturgical furniture with decorative motifs like those at St. Clemente in Rome
Classification
This tri-apsidal church is of Roman form. The three apses may indicate support of the Chalcedonian theology promoted by the emperor Justinian who built the walls of Tiberias and this church
The Archaeology of Liturgy Project reflects research conducted at the W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem during the spring of 2023.