A Monastery on the Mount of Olives

On the eastern slopes of the Mount of Olives, near the road connecting Jerusalem and Jericho, a monastery dated to the Byzantine-Early Islamic period (5th to 8th centuries) was uncovered. The building complex included a church, dining hall, bathhouse, stables and an elaborate water system. It may have served pilgrims as a last way station before entering Jerusalem. A mosaic inscription (in Greek) on the dining room floor reads: In the days of Theodoros the priest and father of the monastery, and the monk Kiriakos this work was accomplished.