Archaeological excavations at Tall al-‘Umayri, 2009 Season

During construction work on the road leading to the international Queen Alia airport, rescue excavation was conducted at the site of Tell el-'Umayri east on the site of a Byzantine church. The uncovered basilica shows the mosaic floor decorated with a pattern of geometric motifs alternately displaying interlaced scuta with concave ends, rhomboids and medallions with birds, animals and plants. Near the presbytery a long mosaic inscription in Greek, composed of seven lines, mentions a list of local donors invoking the protection of St Sergius. The text lists among the donors a most honourable Almonderos connecting the site to local tribal confederations. The date of the church is not fully conserved in the text though it is possible to date it to the 6th century. The church building shows several structural modifications and traces of the iconophobic phase, probably dated to the Umayyad period.