Letter B
76. Burz, al- Khirbet / Samā Rusān | خربة البرز (سما الروسان)
Irbid Governorate
Muṣallā added to a Christian church
JADIS no. 2222059
MEGA no. 16668
Coordinates: 32°37'26.0"N 35°47'59.5"E
32.623889, 35.799861
Plan: constructed long the SW exterior wall of a Byzantine church with mosaic floor. The church is of the accustomed three-naved basilical plan, all three aisles end in apses in the E. The plan of the attached Muslim prayer installation is broad rectangular and it was accessed from the church’s S lateral nave. Since the floor of this room has traces of a Byzantine mosaic floor, it most probably was formerly a Parecclesion of the main church. In the qibla a miḥrāb niche protruding to the exterior of the S wall was later added.
Measurements: ca. 48 m2
Exterior: unknown.
Interior: ca. 8.00 x 6.00 m
Building Materials: limestone blocks, coarsely dressed.
Construction details: According to the excavation plan, the Muslim prayer room was constructed of one single line of solid blocks. No roof support or roofing tiles have been attested by excavation, therefore the room was possibly used an open-air muṣallā.
Preservation: excavated and left in ruined condition, not used for Muslim prayer.
Inscription(s): none known.
Date(s): Umayyad (Khasawneh 1994)
Traveler Reports: None known.
Bibliography: Schumacher 1890, 93; Glueck 1951, 148 (site no. 74); Lenzen - McQuitty - Rusan 1985, 175-178; Lenzen - McQuitty 1988, 270-271; AJ II1, 196-197 s.v. Burz, Khirbet el- (C. J. Lenzen - A. M. McQuitty); Daire 1988, 53 s.v. el-Burz (Khirbet); Khasawneh 1994, 21-30; Michel 2001, 137-138 with fig. 84: Kakish 2007, 227 no. 33 fig. 113; Khouri 2009, 83 s.v. Khirbet al-Burz (el-Birz); Stilkacheva 2018, 387 s. v. Burz.; Ta‘an 2019, 73 fig. 3 28.
