Eisspeedway

Horvat Maon (western Negev)

Horvat Maʿon (Hebrew) or Tell Maʿin / Khirbet el-Maʿin[1] (Arabic) is an archaeological site located 20 kilometres (12 mi) southwest of Gaza and 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) southeast of Kibbutz Nirim in the Negev, the arid southern portion of Israel. In the Roman period, the site is thought to have formed the western boundary of the Limes Palaestinae.[2]

Biblical cities named Maon

A different Maon (Khirbet Ma'in), southeast of Hebron, near Carmel and Ziph, is mentioned in Joshua 15:55 in the tribal territory of Judah, and not to be confused with Horvat Maon of the Negev.[3][4] Others have sought to place Horvat Maon of the Negev with Beth-baal-meon (Joshua 13:17) and Beth-meon (Jeremiah 48:23).[5]

History and archaeology

Horvat Maʿon, under the name Menois, was the capital of Saltus Constantinianus,[6] also known as Saltus Constantiniaces,[7] an administrative district formed by either Constantine the Great or Constantius II.[8]

Excavations there have uncovered the Maon Synagogue, known for its mosaics adorned with various animals and likely built around 600 CE.[9][10] The date of the mosaic has been alternatively given as the first half of the 6th century, based on its style.[11]

References

  1. ^ Negev & Gibson (2005), p. 314
  2. ^ Chiat, Marilyn J. (2020), "Limes Palaestinae", Handbook of Synagogue Architecture, Providence, R.I.: Brown Judaic Studies, p. 243, doi:10.2307/j.ctvzpv521.14, ISBN 978-1-946527-75-2, JSTOR j.ctvzpv521.14
  3. ^ Amit, David (n.d.). "Hurvat Ma'on". In Ben-Yosef, Sefi (ed.). Israel Guide - Judaea (A useful encyclopedia for the knowledge of the country) (in Hebrew). Vol. 9. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House, in affiliation with the Israel Ministry of Defence. pp. 222–223. OCLC 745203905.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  4. ^ David Noel Freedman; Allen C. Myers (31 December 2000). Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Amsterdam University Press. p. 854. ISBN 978-90-5356-503-2.
  5. ^ Na'aman, N. [in Hebrew] (1999). Karel van der Toorn; Bob Becking; Pieter Willem van der Horst (eds.). Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 147. ISBN 978-0-8028-2491-2.
  6. ^ Aharoni, Y. "The Land of Gerar." Israel Exploration Journal, vol. 6, no. 1, 1956, p. 30. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/27924640.
  7. ^ Steven H. Werlin (7 August 2015). Ancient Synagogues of Southern Palestine, 300-800 C.E.: Living on the Edge. BRILL. p. 264. ISBN 978-90-04-29840-8.
  8. ^ Hagith Sivan (2008). Palestine in Late Antiquity. OUP Oxford. p. 337. ISBN 978-0-19-928417-7.
  9. ^ Yeivin, S. "A Year's Work in Israel." Archaeology, vol. 11, no. 4, 1958, pp. 244–245. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41663614.
  10. ^ [1] "One of the Most Spectacular Mosaic Floors Ever Discovered in Israel was Restored and Renovated and Can Now be Seen by the General Public," (30/3/09), Israel Antiquities Authority.
  11. ^ Negev, Avraham & Gibson, Shimon. Mosaics. Archaeological encyclopedia of the Holy Land, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005, pp. 314-315.


31°19′44″N 34°24′32″E / 31.32889°N 34.40889°E / 31.32889; 34.40889