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Umm ar-Rasas

Umm ar-Rasas
Ruins of a Roman house
NameUm er-Rasas (Kastrom Mefa'a)
Native Nameأم الرّصاص
CaptionRuins of a Roman house
LocationAmman Governorate, Jordan
Lat Degrees31
Lat Minutes30
Lat Seconds2
Lat DirectionN
Long Degrees35
Long Minutes55
Long Seconds15
Long DirectionE
Coord Parametersregion:JO-MN_type:landmark
LocmapinJordan
Built5th Century
Elevation760
Governing BodyMinistry of Tourism & Antiquities of Jordan
Designation1WHS
Designation1 Date2004 (28th session)
Designation1 TypeCultural
Designation1 Criteriai, iv, vi
Designation1 Number1093
Designation1 Free1nameState Party
Designation1 Free1valueJordan
Designation1 Free2nameRegion
Designation1 Free2valueArab States

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Umm ar-Rasas ( ) (Kastrom Mefa'a, Kastron Mefa'a) is an archeological site in Jordan which contains ruins from the Roman, Byzantine, and early Muslim civilizations. The majority of the site has not been excavated. Among the portions excavated so far include a military camp and several churches. For its unique blend of civilizations, Um er-Rasas was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.

The most important discovery on the site was the mosaic floor of the Church of St Stephen. It was made in 785 (discovered after 1986). The perfectly preserved mosaic floor is the largest one in Jordan. On the central panel, hunting and fishing scenes are depicted, while another panel illustrates the most important cities of the region including Philadelphia (Amman), Madaba, Esbounta (Heshbon), Belemounta (Ma'an), Areopolis (Ar-Rabba), Charac Moaba (Karak), Jerusalem, Nablus, Caesarea, and Gaza. The frame of the mosaic is especially decorative. Six mosaic masters signed the work: Staurachios from Esbus, Euremios, Elias, Constantinus, Germanus, and Abdela. It overlays another, damaged, mosaic floor of the earlier (587) Church of Bishop Sergius. Another four churches were excavated nearby with traces of mosaic decoration.


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