Mazor Mausoleum
{{Short description|Roman building in El'ad, Israel}}
{{Infobox monument
|monument_name =Mazor Mausoleum
|native_name =
|image =Israel National TrailDSCN4398.JPG
|image_size = 250px
|caption =
|coordinates = {{coord|32.0465|34.9461|display=inline,title}}
|location = {{Flagicon|ISR}} Mazor, Israel
|designer =
|type = Mausoleum
|material =
|length =
|width =
|height =
|begin =
|complete = 3rd century AD
|dedicated_to =
|map_name = Israel
|map_caption = Location within Israel
|map_size = 250
}}
The Mazor Mausoleum ({{langx|he|מאוזוליאום מזור}}) is one of the best preserved Roman buildings in Israel, located in El'ad. The Mausoleum, which is the only Roman era building in Israel to still stand from its foundations to its roof, was built for an important Roman man and his wife in the 3rd century AD.{{Citation needed|date=September 2013}} Their identities remain a mystery but one can still see the remnants of two sarcophagi in the mausoleum.
History
{{See also|Al-Muzayri'a}}
In the Early Muslim period, Muslims added a mihrab (prayer niche) in the southern wall, indicating the direction of Mecca, and the building became an Islamic holy place called Maqam en-Neby Yahyah ('Shrine of the Prophet John').Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp02conduoft#page/365/mode/1up 365]-367 Due to its sacredness, the building was preserved through the ages.{{cite web |title= The Mazor Mausoleum |publisher= Ministry of Tourism |url= http://www.tourism.gov.il/Tourism_Eng/Articles/Sites/The+Mazor+Mausoleum.htm |access-date= 2009-01-13}} It functioned as a mosque until the depopulation of the Palestinian village Al-Muzayri'a in 1948.
In July 1949, Israel decided to raze the mausoleum, after the Israeli Ground Forces had used the building for target practice. However, an antiquities inspector managed to stop the destruction.[http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/history-erased-1.224899 History Erased], by Meron Rapoport, Haaretz, 05.07.07
Nowadays
The Mazor mausoleum has been declared a "national park" and is currently under the management of Israel's National Parks Authority.{{Cite web|url=https://inature.info/wiki/%D7%92%D7%9F_%D7%9C%D7%90%D7%95%D7%9E%D7%99_%D7%9E%D7%90%D7%95%D7%96%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%90%D7%95%D7%9D_%D7%9E%D7%96%D7%95%D7%A8|title=גן לאומי מאוזוליאום מזור – iNature|website=inature.info}}
References
{{Commons category|Mazor Mausoleum}}
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
{{refbegin}}
- {{cite book|last1=Conder|first1=C.R.|authorlink1=Claude Reignier Conder|last2=Kitchener|first2=H.H.|authorlink2=Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|year=1882|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp02conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology|location=London|publisher=Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund|volume=2}}
{{refend}}
{{National parks of Israel}}
{{authority control}}
Category:3rd-century establishments in the Roman Empire
Category:Buildings and structures completed in the 3rd century
Category:Jews and Judaism in the Roman Empire
Category:Buildings and structures in Central District (Israel)
Category:National parks of Israel