Hisham's Palace, also called Khirbat al-Mafjar, is an Umayyad complex near Jericho in the West Bank. The infobox dates construction to 724 to 743, while the text says only the first half of the 8th century. The article names no architect, and the patron is unresolved, either Caliph Hisham or al-Walid ibn Yazid.
The roughly square palace had round corner towers, two stories, a paved courtyard and a mosque. A bath complex nearly 98 feet (30 m) square has semicircular exedrae and a diwan with a Tree of Life mosaic. The mosaics use more than five million stone pieces, and the site covers 150 acres (60 hectares).
The 749 earthquake is commonly thought to have ended the site, but one analysis contradicts this and a 2013 study points to 1033. Mosaic restoration finished in 2021, and a dome-shaped shelter with suspended walkways, by a Japanese architecture office, covers them. The site has been open to the public since 2021.
Comments