La Chiesa del Reliquiario a Umm al-Rasas

The archeological research at the Church of Umm-al-Rasas - Kastron Mefaa, located outside the northern wall of the Roman Camp between the Tabula Ansata to the south and the Church of Lions to the north, began by the Department of Antiquities in the summer of 2003 with the removal of the surface stones from the collapse. The excavations were followed by and completed with our mission in August 2004, during the 20th campaign among the ruins that has been included by UNESCO in the World Heritage List the previous month. The Basilica style Church was paved with mosaic in the year 586 at the time of Bishop Sergius of Madaba. We named it the Church of the Reliquary due to the damage that it underwent during the time of this liturgical furnishing, before our intervention, by the clandestine excavators who ravaged through the area.