Talk:Madaba Map

Question

I need to know more about the mosaic (map). Can you tell me who did the work in the St. George Greek Orthodox Church? pgoodwin@chrysanindustries.com

I will try and find the answer to your question. What we do know, however, is that almost all who have studied the Madaba Map concur that the creator of the mosaic based his toponymy and phraseology on Eusebius' Onomasticon, as often he simply repeats what was written by Eusebius.Davidbena (talk) 23:29, 12 October 2020 (UTC)

In answer to your question, from what I was able to gather from sources written about the Madaba Map, "Nobody knows who the artist was and there is no name on the map. Usually a patron or the ruler of the land lent his name to such an important work but the section where this name was generally placed is severely damaged. According to one of the mosaics inscriptions, construction was sponsored entirely by the inhabitants of Madaba. The project required at least three mosaicists as well as a specialist in biblical topography.... It is reasonable to assume that the creator was of Eastern origin, familiar with the language and the layout of the land. He may have been a monk and the map may have been intended to offer devout pilgrims a view of the city of Jerusalem as witness of a great past" (End Quote). Prof. Michael Avi-Yonah dated the mosaic to the sixth century (565-560 of our Common Era). I hope that this was helpful.Davidbena (talk) 21:44, 14 October 2020 (UTC)

You may wish to read more about this here: Madaba Map. Be well.Davidbena (talk) 21:50, 14 October 2020 (UTC)

Unless the question was more about who did the work in the 19th-century church? (The church name used by P. Goodwin in his question is of recent date.) That can be gleaned in quite some detail from the 1999 Alliata & Piccirillo (eds.) monograph cited in the article. Arminden (talk) 13:23, 26 February 2024 (UTC)

How much has been destroyed during the 1890s?

The 1999 book and its (expanded) online version at ChristusRex.org (dead website, but archived) contains lots of details very relevant to understanding how much might have been destroyed during the 1880s Christian resettlement of Madaba and mainly the 1890s construction work at the new church. Very tricky subject locally, but not for enWiki. The Patriarchate is very defensive, Jordan and the Franciscans stay out of it for diplomatic reasons, but the question is an important one, be it only academically. Arminden (talk) 13:31, 26 February 2024 (UTC)

Askalon source

The source that claims the map helped identify Askalon (in #Scientific significance) isn't in english, and I can't find anything else making that exact claim. I'm sure it's a valid claim, but we should have a better way to verify it. Dr. Carrotflower (talk) 21:01, 7 October 2025 (UTC)

I don't see a section title (or even the bare words 'Scientific significance') in the article. There's quite a few maps in the article, can you specify which one is at issue? cheers. anastrophe, an editor he is. 21:19, 7 October 2025 (UTC)

@Anastrophe The section comes after the section titled 'Description'. The following link should take you to the relevant text: Madaba Map#Scientific significance.

As for the source Dr. Carrotflower refers to, Google Translate indicates that it is a term paper. While I am not commenting specifically on the quality of the work, I would expect that student work should only be cited if they have undergone peer review and publication. Richard Nevell (talk) 21:57, 7 October 2025 (UTC)

Okay, my little pea-brain clicked on the 'Askalon' article link and went looking for 'Scientific significant', lol. That aside, agreed, a term paper, thesis, anything of that type demands independent sourcing. cheers. anastrophe, an editor he is. 22:24, 7 October 2025 (UTC)