Jerusalem No. 1

INFORMATION

FontID: 03236JER
Church/Chapel: Dome of the Rock
Church Location: Temple Mount (Haram al-Sharif), Jerusalem, Israel
Country Name: Israel
Location: Jerusalem
Directions to Site: In the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem.
Font Location in Church: In the courtyard or esplanade
Century and Period: , Early Christian
Church Notes: Malle (1984) places it in Jerusalem, in the "Mosque d'Omar" but, as Winter (1999) points out, this name is erroneously given to the Dome of the Rock on the Haram al-Sharif / Temple Mount. The real Mosque of Omar or Mosque of Afdal 'Ali, built in 1193, is actually in the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem (Winter, 1999)
Enlart (1925-1929) refers to R.P. Meistermann's 'Guide de Terre-Sainte', and his identification of the building of the Ascension of Mohammed as the baptistery of Dome of the Rock; the building is octagonal and was originally open on all sides. Enlart (ibid.), after Meistermann, reports an octagonal marble basin nearby. Enlart concurs with Meistermann's opinion. An illustration in Malle (1994) shows a poly-lobulated raised tank with matching shape on the inside, though the bottom on the inside is cut in a square shape. Malle's caption describes it as "cuve baptismale sans doute d'origine byzantine" (Malle, 1994). [NB: Malle (1984) places it in Jerusalem, in the "Mosque d'Omar" but, as Winter (1999) points out, this name is erroneously given to the Dome of the Rock on the Haram al-Sharif / church Mount. The real Mosque of Omar or Mosque of Afdal 'Ali, built in 1193, is actually in the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem (Winter, 1999)]

COORDINATES

Church Latitude & Longitude Decimal: 31.778, 35.2354
Church Latitude & Longitude DMS: 31° 46′ 40.8″ N, 35° 14′ 7.44″ E
UTM: 36R 711677 3518004

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone, marble
Font Shape: multi-lobed (eight lobes)
Basin Exterior Shape: multi-lobed (eight lobes)

REFERENCES

Enlart, Camille, Les monuments des croisés dans le royaume de Jérusalem: architecture religieuse et civile, Paris: Librarie orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1925-1928
Malle, Louis, Sources du baptême: découvrir les baptistères et les fonts baptismaux, Paris: Éditions de l'atelier, 1994
Winter, Dave, Israel Handbook: with the Palestinian Authority Areas, 2nd ed., Bath, UK: Footprint, 1999