Sixth–Seventh-Century CE Armenian Inscriptions of a Monastic Community in Jerusalem

Excavations in the Musrara neighborhood of Jerusalem uncovered four Armenian inscriptions within a monastic complex founded in the fifth–sixth centuries CE. The inscriptions were found on a mosaic floor, on tombstones and on a large pottery bowl, and together with the Birds Mosaic, they probably formed part of one monastic complex, in which Armenians played a significant role. As there is no hint in the historical sources of the existence of this complex, the archaeological discovery contributes new historical information concerning the Christian, and particularly Armenian settlement in Jerusalem in the seventh century CE.