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Researchers Find (Byzantine) Church in Jordan
AP ^ | September 5, 2002 | AP

Posted on 09/06/2002 2:15:21 PM PDT by Tancred

Researchers Find Church in Jordan Thu Sep 5,11:43 AM ET

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - Parts of a church dating to the Byzantine era have been uncovered in southern Jordan, an archaeologist supervising the excavations said Thursday.

"A big mosaic floor, an altar and pillars ... built between 400 and 600 A.D. have recently been unearthed," archaeologist Hamad Qatameen told The Associated Press.

Qatameen said the church was in Dhat Ras village near Karak, 93 miles south of Amman, Jordan's capital. He declined to give other details. He said the find, made after two months work, was still under excavation by his archaeology department at the University of Mutaa.

The discovery means "all of Jordan was part of the Byzantine empire, contrary to previous belief that it was only the northern part of the country," he said.

Several churches believed to date to the Byzantine era have been unearthed in northern and central Jordan, which lies at a crossroad to the Holy Land — a route pilgrims used after Christianity originated in the Middle East in the first century of the current era.

The Byzantine rulers, operating from Constantinople — now Istanbul, were the direct successors to the Roman Empire which held sway in the early days of the Christian era. Territory under the Byzantine rule included, at various times, Asia Minor — now Turkey, and the Balkan Peninsula, including Macedonia and Greece. The main language was Greek and the predominant religion was Orthodox Christianity. The Byzantine Empire fell to invading Turks in 1453.


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: archaeology; byzantines; economic; ggg; godsgravesglyphs; history; jordan

1 posted on 09/06/2002 2:15:22 PM PDT by Tancred
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To: Tancred
I'm signing up for the Byzantine Liberation Army to regain my homeland. We were there before Islam!

This is assuming of course, that I have Byzantine ancestors.

2 posted on 09/06/2002 2:20:01 PM PDT by DallasMike
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To: blam
ping!
3 posted on 09/06/2002 2:20:01 PM PDT by Black Agnes
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To: Black Agnes
Thanks for the ping.
4 posted on 09/06/2002 2:45:14 PM PDT by blam
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To: Tancred
I suppose this means we'll soon see work crew arrive to quickly build a mosque atop the site and claim it is the Fourth Holiest Site of Islam, a site from which Muhammed's Arabian war-jackass ascended to heaven after stomping a few infidels to death.
5 posted on 09/06/2002 2:51:19 PM PDT by piasa
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To: Tancred
A potential future headline:

Researchers Find Palace near Israeli State of Jordan Thu Sep 5, 2200, 11:43 AM ET

AMMAN, Jordan, Israel (AP) - Parts of a palace dating to the long forgotten Hussein era have been uncovered near southern Jordan, an archaeologist supervising the excavations said Thursday.

"A big mosaic floor, an altar and pillars ... built between 1998 and 2000 A.D. have recently been unearthed," archaeologist Hamad Qatameen told The Associated Press.

Qatameen said the palace was in what was once called Baghdad, 93 miles south of East Crawford, Jordan-Israel's capital. He declined to give other details. He said the find, made after two months work, was still under excavation by his archaeology department at the University of Hebron...

6 posted on 09/06/2002 2:57:15 PM PDT by NorCoGOP
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To: Tancred
How long will it take before the Muslims destroy all the evidence?
7 posted on 09/06/2002 3:24:45 PM PDT by Cicero
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To: *Gods, Graves, Glyphs; Tancred
Just adding this to the GGG homepage, not sending a general distribution.
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on or off the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list --
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.

8 posted on 07/20/2004 10:49:51 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Unlike some people, I have a profile. Okay, maybe it's a little large...)
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Just updating the GGG information, not sending a general distribution.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. Thanks.
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on or off the
"Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list or GGG weekly digest
-- Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)

9 posted on 07/23/2006 11:04:57 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (updated my FR profile on Wednesday, June 21, 2006. https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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