Sebastia leads into a past that cannot be reduced to a single era. Material traces of successive civilizations are visible there and can be clearly read; other sites draw attention to religious tradition, urban heritage and the role of water. There is therefore no single perspective for your discoveries: you can focus on archaeological sequences, the significance of a religious site, or the relationship between landscape and water.

Traces of Archaeological Eras

In Sebastia, evidence ranges from the Iron Age through the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods to later traces from the Crusader era. The site’s broad chronology is precisely what makes it interesting: the focus is not just on one era, but on a succession of historical horizons. Those interested in archaeology can consider the different periods in sequence while keeping in mind how differently the evidence is dated.

Hill, Spring and Coastal Dunes

Ancient Jericho, also known as Tell es-Sultan, is an oval hill northwest of modern-day Jericho in the Jordan Valley. The year-round spring of ‘Ain es-Sultan lies directly beside it. For thousands of years, it has been an important source of water for the area’s inhabitants. The hill and the spring offer two distinct points of reference: the distinctive shape of the archaeological site and the longstanding importance of water to the people of the surrounding area.

The ruins of the Saint Hilarion Monastery/Tell Umm Amer are set in a different kind of landscape. They lie on coastal dunes in the municipality of Nuseirat. In contrast with the oval hill in the Jordan Valley, the focus here shifts to the coastal landscape and the location of the monastery ruins. Archaeological sites stand out not only for their history: the landscape described at each site also lends it a distinct character.

Religious Tradition and Architectural History

Since the 2nd century, Christian tradition has regarded the site of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem as the birthplace of Jesus. Here, the focus is on a religious tradition whose historical context differs from the visible material traces in Sebastia.

Hebron’s Old City Heritage

Hebron/Al-Khalil’s Old City includes the monumental complex of the Ibrahimi Mosque, also known as the Tomb of the Patriarchs, as well as the ahwash, the plural of hosh. These two details offer different points of reference for considering the city’s heritage: on the one hand, the explicitly monumental complex; on the other, the collective known as the ahwash. The term itself is a useful guide, as it also provides the traditional plural form.

Water as a Source and a Shared Resource

Water features in different ways in these examples. In Jericho, the focus is on a spring that flows year-round and its importance over thousands of years. Closer to the destination, a traditional distribution system shares water collected through an irrigation network among families from the nearby village of Battir. The contrast draws attention first to a spring, and then to the distribution of collected water. This makes it possible to explore the subject of water both through its importance to the inhabitants of an area and through a shared practice of distribution.

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