[1] The monastery, dating to the 5th-7th centuries, is centered around a basilical church and overlooks from a steep slope the southeastern Dead Sea and the modern town of Safi[dubious – discuss] in Jordan.
[1] Archaeological finds reveal a long-term settlement regime for the cave the sanctuary is built around.
[1] The oldest material found inside the cave suggests a sizable Early and Middle Bronze Age presence, followed by Nabataean pottery, which is indicative of a settlement there during the first centuries BCE and CE.
[1] However, the bulk of the findings are associated with the church and monastery and date to the early Byzantine period (c. 5th-7th centuries).
[1] This site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on June 18, 2001 in the Cultural category.