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From the Roman fort Kastron Mefa'a at the Limes Arabicus and a settlement north of it, a Christian town and important place of pilgrimage developed in the 5th century. Many of the 16 churches have been decorated with mosaic floors, of which some excellent examples can still be seen. Particularly noteworthy is the mosaic floor of the Church of Saint Stephen with its representation of towns in the region.
About 1.3 km to the north there is a 14 meter high Stylite tower. It is probably the last remaining building of this kind, on which strictly ascetic pillar-saints retreated.
Because of the outstanding universal value of the Roman, Byzantine and early Islamic testimonies from the late 3rd to 9th centuries, Umm er-Rasas was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2004.
Umm ar-Rasas Visitor Center
Approx. 70 km south of Amman,
30 km southeast of Madaba
Location on map
Opening hours:
November - April: 8 am - 4 pm
April - May: 8 am - 5:30 pm
Summer: 8:00 am - 6:30 pm
During Ramadan: 8 am - 3:30 pm
(Information without guarantee, times may change)
© Texts and photos are protected by copyright.
© All the photos by Universes in Universe
The texts in this presentation of Umm er-Rasas are mainly based on information in: Nomination of the old city of Um er-Rasas (Kastrum Mefa’a) for the World Heritage List, by the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, February 2002.
Also, the seminal book by Michele Piccirillo The Mosaics of Jordan is an important source from which some paragraphs are quoted.
Eusebius of Cesarea mentioned that a unit of the Roman army was stationed on the edge of the desert at Mefaat in the 4th century AD. (Onomasticon 128, 21).
Also the Notitia Dignitatum, a state handbook or auxiliary book of the Roman Empire for the internal use of Roman authorities from the 5th centrury AD, stated that auxiliary cavalry troops of the Roman army were stationed in the camp of Mefaa under the command of the Dux Arabiae.
By Michele Piccirillo
A large format, cloth-bound volume with 383 pages, 874 illustrations, including aerial views of many of the sites and plans of most of the structures which have mosaics.
American Center of Oriental Research, Amman, Jordan. First edition in 1993.
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