The town of Madaba in Jordan is home to the early Byzantine Saint George’s Church, which itself houses something quite incredible.
In History Hit documentary The Jordan: A River Through Time, historian Dan Snow visits a site which has long been associated with early Christianity and the making of mosaics.
It is still possible to find artists carefully crafting in stone here, continuing a tradition stretching back millennia and exemplified by one incredible Byzantine-era mosaic in particular.
This is the so-called Madaba Map, the oldest known map of the Biblical Middle East.
The Jordan: A River Through Time
Image Credit: History Hit
“130 years ago workmen were clearing away the ground here to rebuild Saint George’s Church when they uncovered something extraordinary under the floor,” says Dan.
“Pieces of small coloured tile began to emerge. Bit by bit, they revealed a large mosaic. But it wasn’t a pattern or a picture. They discovered a map, complete with towns, seas and rivers, showing this whole region dating back nearly 1,500 years.”
The astonishing map is much more than just an atlas. “It doesn’t just show where places are in the physical space in relation to each other, but the importance of the spiritual dimension as well.”
“This is how early Christians saw their world, how they understood their place within it, and the centrality of their faith.”
“You can see the Dead Sea looming very large with the ships riding its waves,” explains Dan. “And there, just to the west of it we have the ancient city, the holy city itself, Jerusalem, depicted disproportionately large compared to other places on the map.”
It is possible to pick out individual buildings on the map. “You can see the ancient walled city’s Damascus Gate. Next to Damascus Gate stands the dark column that once supported the statue of Emperor Hadrian. Moving further into the city, there’s a long colonnaded main street, or cardo. Prominent on the map are Jerusalem’s principal churches, including the large new Church of Saint Mary. Tucked against the city walls in the northeast is the Church of the Sheep Pool.”
“This is my idea of heaven”
“Right next to the main street stands the most important of them all. In Byzantine times it was called the Church of the Resurrection, but it’s now known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where it’s believed Jesus’s body was laid to rest after crucifixion. Still a place of devotion, 1,500 years after this map was made.”
The map teems with details about the places that mattered to the Christians who lived in Madaba in Byzantine times. To the south Bethlehem can be seen, and elsewhere the names of Biblical places and tribes.
The Nile flows in the west and on the Mediterranean coast the port of Gaza is visible. On the River Jordan itself lies the point where Jesus Christ was baptised.
“As someone who is obsessed with both maps and history, this is my idea of heaven,” says Dan in the film. “It is as instructive as it is beautiful. It tells us about the world of the early Christians, literally where everything was, but also where they saw their place within it.”
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