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Jerusalem On the Famous Mosaic Floor from Madaba
This is a precious depiction of Jerusalem on a partially preserved sixth-century floor map in a Christian church in Madaba, Jordan. It shows the walls of the city and some of its most prominent buildings. The map also lists other important towns in the Holy Land. It is composed mosaic (pieces of colored marble). The map is badly damaged so we have only limited sections of it, but it helps scholars identify locations in late antique Jerusalem. It also helps understanding late antique map-making and conceptions of geography. Numerous other significant mosaics survive in Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, and Syria.
Name: Madaba, Jerusalem on the famous mosaic floor
Material: Mosaic tile
Size: Originally, it measured 21 m by 7 m (68 ft 10.8 in x 23 ft) and contained over two million tesserae. Its current dimensions are 16 by 5 m (52 ft 6 in x 16 ft 5 in)
Date: Between 542 and 570 CE
Place of Origin: Church of Saint George at Madaba, Jordan
Location: Church of Saint George at Madaba, Jordan
Source and Registration#: Wikimedia Commons. Link to resource
Creative Commons Copyright
Attribution: Berthold Werner
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported. (accessed March 4, 2010).
Walter E. Kaegi
Professor of History, University of Chicago
