Archaeology

Although U. J. Seetzen visited the ruins as early as 1807, it was R. Hartman who identified the site (known by the modern name “Kurnub”) as “Mamshit” in 1913 based on Eusebius’ Onomasticon (8.8) and the Madaba Map.

Mamshit was excavated in 1965–1967 and 1970–1972 by Avraham Negev. It is now beautifully restored by the Israeli Antiquities Authority and is listed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site. In a large home near the marketplace, 10,500 Roman dinars and tetradrachmas were discovered. This home (“the Nabatu house”) features rooms decorated with frescoes of mythological scenes and has several workshops. One room has been identified as the “stables,” although Murphy-O’Connor points out that the animals would have had to be very small to occupy it (Murphy-O’Connor, Holy Land, 331).

Coins and pottery from the city and cemetery indicate that the site was first occupied from 25 bc to ad 70. During this period, Mamshit had a small fort and several towers defending the trade route, as well as several storehouses. It is possible that there was a brief time after ad 70 when the town was not occupied.

There are two churches from the early Byzantine period at Mamshit. The western one, the “Nilus Church,” features a mosaic floor honoring the founder, Nilus. Negev dates this church to ad 350–400, making it one of the earliest churches in the Negev desert. The Nilus Church is 56 by 32 feet (17.5 by 10 meters) and has a deep cistern and a beautiful mosaic floor featuring geometric patterns with fruit and birds and five Greek inscriptions. The eastern church must be dated before ad 427, since the decorative crosses in the church were forbidden after that date (Murphy-O’Connor, Holy Land, 330). There is a small reliquary in the southeast corner of the church.