Trench B

LOCATION: the central-south part of the complex
DIMENSIONS: ca. 11 x 3.5 m
EXCAVATED: 1998
INTERPRETATION: the western part of the southern aisle of the church. Later, this area became the southern part of the open court (atrium)

DESCRIPTION: The excavations revealed a long space paved with irregular flagstones, which abutted a bench built against the southern wall of the church. The trench also contained the southern part of the western wall of the church, including the southern door. Two floor levels were detected as well as few column drums/bases in situ. Following the early phase (lower floor) of the ecclesiastical occupation, a new wall was built which subdivided the church. The western part became an open court and was repaved. Still later, a heavy buttress was built against the partitioning wall. The buttress, built from reused material stands directly on the upper floor of the space. The latest evidence of occupation on the floor included ash deposits and fish and chicken remains.

FINDS: Nabataean ceramics (1st century A.D.), ceramics dated to the 4th-5th and probably 6th centuries A.D., Abbasid-period lamps dated to the 2nd half of the 8th century, fragments of decorated marble furniture of the church.