Aqaba Church
| Aqaba Church | ||
|---|---|---|
| كنيسة العقبة | ||
Style Basilica | | |
| Completed | 293 AD | |
| Demolished | 363 AD (earthquake) | |
| Administration | ||
| Parish | Aila (extinct) | |
Aqaba Church is a historic 3rd-century church located in Aqaba, Jordan. It was unearthed in 1998 by a group of archaeologists and is considered to be the world's oldest-known purpose-built Christian church.[1] Its first phase was dated between 293 and 303, which makes it older than the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, both of which were built in the late 320s.[2]
Its peripheral location within the Roman Empire is likely to have saved it from destruction during the Great Persecution that broke out just a few years after the church's construction.
Discovery and identification as a church
The site was discovered in the Jordanian coastal city of Aqaba in June 1998 by a group of archaeologists who soon started unearthing the ruins. The archaeologists soon realized the uniqueness of the church by its architectural style, which refuted the perception among historians that the earliest churches in Jordan all dated from the late 4th century. Older churches discovered in other parts of the world were not originally used as such,[3] a famous case being the 3rd-century house church at Dura-Europos.[4]
History
The Aqaba church was built sometime in the late third or the beginning of the fourth century, as indicated by the pottery finds from its foundations.
Description
The building had the shape of a large three-aisled basilica, with a narthex, and oriented on an east-west axis.[2][4] It measured 85 feet (26 m) by 53 feet (16 m), was built of mud-brick over stone foundations, with probably vaulted nave and aisles, and arched doorways.[4] Remains of a staircase suggest that it had a second storey.[4] The nave ended in a chancel area followed by a rectangular apse.[4]
Archaeologists discovered walls up to 4.5 metres (15 ft) high, the foundations of a
The church initially accommodated approximately 60 worshippers, and was expanded after the Diocletianic Persecution to accommodate up to 100 worshippers.[2]
See also
- Oldest churches in the world
References
- ^ "First purpose-built church". Guinness World Records. 2014-01-02. Retrieved 2016-06-04.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Earliest church discovered in Red Sea port". The Independent. 1998-12-21. Retrieved 2016-06-04.
- ^ "Jordan Site May Hold Oldest Church". The New York Times. 1998-09-07. Retrieved 2016-06-04.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Mark Rose (1998). "Early Church at Aqaba". Archaeology. Vol. 51, Number 6, November/December 1998. Archaeological Institute of America. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
- ISBN 9781443869478. Retrieved 2016-06-04.