Name of Monument:

Umm al-Rasas

Other name of the Monument:

Mephaath

Name in original language:

Kastron Mefaa

Location:

Madaba District, Jordan

Responsible Institution:

Department of Antiquities

 About Department of Antiquities, Madaba District

Date of Monument:

Roman-Present; identified in 1896 by J. Germer-Durand

History:

The World Heritage Site of Umm al-Rasas (Kastron Mefa'a, Kastrom Mefa'a) is an archaeological site in Jordan which contains ruins from the Roman, Byzantine, and early Muslim periods. The most important monument in the site was the mosaic floor of the Church of St Stephen. This biggest mosaic floor in Jordan – which was built in 785 AD – depicts the most important cities in Jordan, Palestine and Egypt. The fact that the mosaic floor was constructed during the Abbasid period reflects the spirit of tolerance and co-existence of the Muslim and Christian communities during that period. Umm al-Rasas was visited by H.B. Tristram in 1872 and subsequently identified in 1896 by J. Germer-Durand with the Biblical and Late Antiquity city of Mephaath.

Description:

The town of Umm al-Rasas was enclosed in an almost square (app.160x155 meters) enclosure surrounded by fortification walls and 24 towers. The main gateway was from the east. Two small gates were positioned at the north and the south sides. These were blocked later. Archaeological investigations at the site were concentrated on the four churches identified inside the fortification walls, including the church of the Rivers and the church of the Palm tree. These were named after the main component of the mosaic panels on the floors. At least 11 other churches were identified outside the enclosure to the north. The most prominent of them are the church of St. Stephen with its famous mosaic panels of 15 major towns of Jordan and Palestine of the time.

Citation of this web page:

Mohammad Najjar "Umm al-Rasas" in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2025.
https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monuments;AWE;jo;5;en

Prepared by: Mohammad Najjar
Copyedited by: Daniel de la VegaDaniel de la Vega

Daniel de la Vega is a copy editor based in Portland, Oregon. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in linguistics from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 2014 and has since done editing and localization work on everything from college applications to magazines to video game dialogue.

MWNF Working Number: JO 005