Umm el-Umdan


Umm el-Umdan or Khirbet Umm el-Umdan is a Jewish archaeological site within the municipal boundaries of the Israeli city of Modi'in.

Etymology

The Arabic name of the site, Khirbet el 'Eumdan or Khirbet Umm el-‘Umdan, means 'mother of columns', named after the remains visible at the site.

Archaeological findings

French archaeologist Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau visited the site in 1873 and suggested the ruins were the remains of a church. Rescue excavations were carried out at the site between 2000 and 2003 ahead of the planned construction of residential buildings for Modi'in.

Synagogue

It was first built during the Hasmonean period and stood between the end of the 2nd and the late 1st century BCE, when it was rebuilt during the Herodian period. The synagogue of the late Roman period was destroyed in the Bar Kokhba revolt.
The Umm el-Umdan synagogue should not be confused with a second 1st-century BCE synagogue discovered at nearby Qiryat Sefer/Modi'in Illit at the site of Khirbet Badd 'Isa, on the Ascent of Beth-Horon.

Findings

Two column rows with 4 columns on each side, whose bases were unearthed, split the later-phase synagogue into three naves.

Mikveh

West of the synagogue a mikve was discovered, dated to the Herodian period. During the Hasmonean period there was already a sitting bath in the courtyard.

Burial caves

Burial complexes dating to the Second Temple period were found to the east and south of the village.

Identification

Umm el-Umdan is regarded as one of the potential locations of the ancient Jewish village of Modi'in, which is known to have been situated in the area of modern Modi'in, though its exact position has never been definitively determined. This theory has been supported by excavators Shlomit Wexler-Bdolah, Alexander Onn, and Yehuda Rapuano, who suggest that the name "Umm el-Umdan" may preserve the name Modi'in. However, the name, meaning "the mother of columns" in Arabic, also appears in other locations within Israel. Alternative theories propose other sites, including Tell er-Ras, Khirbet el-Hammam, and Giv'at Tittora.