The Monastery of Mar Michael(An Archaeological Field Study)

St. Mar Michael's Monastery (An Archaeological Field Study)
A number of monasteries were founded in Mesopotamia in the fourth century AD by many monks and saints. One of these monasteries was St. Michael's Monastery which was built on a beautiful piece of land measuring 4000 square meters in Nineveh on the west bank of the Tigris River in the place that is called today (Hawi Al-Kaneesah). The number of monks at the beginning of the foundation was 300 monks and then increased to 700 monks. Monasteries differ according to the locations on which they are located including mountain tops riverbanks and towns and cities. Every monastery whether small or large must have a church to pray in a cellar for monks a pavilion for visitors and a temple to accommodate the number of monks.