Virgin Mary's Church (Mount Gerizim)

Description of the site: Emperor Zeno built the Church of the Virgin Mary on the top of Mount Gerizim in 484 AD, rising about 886 meters above sea level. And due to the sanctity of the site for the Samaritans, they attacked the church and were able to burn and destroy it, and at a later time, it was rebuilt in 536 AD. It was fortified with an impenetrable defensive wall, to repel any external attack on it. Then it was later destroyed by the earthquake that struck Palestine in the eighth century AD.During the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods, the eastern section of the wall and its attached rooms were rehabilitated to use as a camp for the Ayyubid army. They also built a shrine bearing the name of the shrine of Sheikh Ghanem on the ruins of the northeastern church tower. The church exploration work began in the early thirties of the last century when archaeological excavations showed the church building. In 1988 AD, all parts of the church, the defensive wall, and its surroundings were uncovered.The general external layout of the church wall consists of a rectangle measuring 100 x 83 m, including six square defensive towers. A row of rooms used to house the church's parishioners was attached to it. In front of the rooms are paved yards with regular-shaped stone tiles. The wall's entrance was discovered in the middle of the northern facade overlooking the city of Nablus. It was fortified with several guard rooms on both sides, and a stone staircase led down towards the city of Nablus. A vast pool was discovered at a close distance from outside the northern wall, fueled by rainwater that fell on the roof of the church. Tombs dating back to the Byzantine period were found outside the church's apse on the eastern side, and it is likely Monks' tombs.In the middle of the church is a rectangular square, one of the most beautiful Byzantine churches discovered in Palestine in terms of its octagonal shape. The three-gate entrance is located on the western front. The central gate is much broader than the two side gates, where they all face the three apses of the church on the eastern side.The middle apse was much more comprehensive than the two sides, and the church floor was likely paved with marble slabs, but it was moved to locations outside the area in the late stages. The church's ceiling was a dome carried on columns, the stone bases still in their original positions.The Israeli Occupation authorities closed the church site and the entire summit of Mount Gerizim, and turned it into an archaeological park under their control.