Mazor Mausoleum

Mazor Mausoleum
Location within Israel
Coordinates 32°02′47″N 34°56′46″E / 32.0465°N 34.9461°E / 32.0465; 34.9461Coordinates: 32°02′47″N 34°56′46″E / 32.0465°N 34.9461°E / 32.0465; 34.9461
Location Israel Mazor, Israel
Type Mausoleum
Completion date 3rd century AD

The Mazor Mausoleum (Hebrew: מאוזוליאום מזור‎) is one of the best preserved Roman buildings in Israel, located in El'ad. The Mausoleum, which is the only Roman era building in Israel to still stand from its foundations to its roof, was built for an important Roman man and his wife in the 3rd century AD. Their identities remain a mystery but one can still see the remnants of two sarcophagi in the mausoleum.

Muslim Period

In the Late Antiquity, Muslims added a prayer niche in the southern wall, indicating the direction of Mecca, and the building became an Islamic holy place called Maqam (shrine) en Neby Yahyah (Shrine of the Prophet John).[1] Due to its sacredness, the building was preserved through the ages.[2] It functioned as a mosque until the depopulation of the Palestinian village Al-Muzayri'a in 1948.

In July 1949, Israel decided to raze the mausoleum, after the Israeli army had used the building for target practice. However an antiquities inspector managed to stop the destruction.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, pp. 365-367
  2. ↑ "The Mazor Mausoleum". Ministry of Tourism - The State of Israel. Retrieved 2009-01-13.
  3. ↑ History Erased, by Meron Rapoport, Haaretz, 05.07.07

Bibliography

  • Conder, C.R.; Kitchener, H.H. (1882). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology. 2. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
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