The Crusader Church of St. Mary in el-Bira

In the center of the Arab village of el-Bira, is a Crusader church that was constructed in the village of Birra, or Magna Mahomeria (“the great Mohammedan shrine”), a reference to the Muslim religious structure located there. Close to the church there are a large caravanserai and a hospital, both apparently erected in the Crusader period. In the nineteenth century the church was still standing almost in its entirety, including part of the roof. The disintegration of the church did not cease afterwards, and today only its lower courses remain. The excavations of the church were conducted under the direction of the author intermittently during the years 1987-1991.