254. Mnīfa / Monēfa | منيفة

al-Mafraq Governorate

Church converted to a Jāmi‘

JADIS no. 2519014

MEGA no. 3448

Coordinates: 32°18'53.0"N 36°04'46.6"E

32.314722, 36.079611

Plan: Church of the common three-aisled basilica type with two arcades of each three arches separating the central nave from the lateral ones. In the E, there is the presbytery flanked by two apses in the prolongation of the lateral aisles. The masonry of the S wall has been broken through on half of its length to insert a miḥrāb.

Measurements: 168.95 m²

Exterior: Total complex 37.20 x 22.50 m; church 12.20-13.20 x 22.40-22,50 m.

Interior: ca. 15.50 x 10.90 m.

Building Materials: local limestone. Apart from semi dressed stones for the exterior walls, in the church several well chiseled older blocks have been reused for the pilasters for the arcade. Several of them show chiseled T-shaped depressions at the long sides (fig. 254.8) which are typical devices for the insertion iron clamps in Greco-Roman architecture.

Construction details: reused arcades to carry the roof.

Preservation: At the NE periphery of the site is a large rectangular podium of pre-Byzantine age, probably a substructure of a monumental Roman rural temple. The S sector is occupied by a triple aisled Christian church with arcades and three apses in the E. The floors are covered by colored mosaics (fig. 254.6) with geometric ornaments (maeander, diamonds and rosettes). The S wall of the S lateral nave has been broken through in order to insert a Muslim prayer niche. In contrast to other converted churches in the region (such as Reḥāb [no. 304], Umm aṣ-Ṣurāb [no. 412], Umm al-Jimāl [no. 403], Ṣammā’ Ṣirhān [no. 331]), a blocking of the apsidial presbytery zone by an inserted wall could not be observed. G. Schumacher (cf. Steuernagel 1927) argued that the complex is of Islamic origin and pointed to the close analogy of the double church complex of Reḥāb.

Inscription(s): One of the well-dressed blocks shows a simple Arabic graffito in one line, which is only legible at its beginning:

Translation: “Ali ibn [- - - ].”

Date(s): The church can dated on the base of the style of the mosaic floors to the 6th-7th centuries BC. During the GJU survey on February 20^th, 2020, only early Roman (Eastern Terra Sigillata), late Byzantine and Umayyad ribbed wares, but no Ayyubid-Mamluk or Ottoman sherds have been observed in the surface pottery. 

Traveler Reports: “Auf den höchsten Punkte liegt eine größere Ruine, die kürzlich noch bewohnt war, mit einer Zisterne....Die erhaltenen Baureste gleichen denen von rihâb und sind muhammedanischen Urprungs.” (Steuernagel 1927).

Bibliography: Steuernagel 1927, A 370; Rjoub – Housan 2013, 477 no. 20.