The Church of the Virgin Mary is one of four churches built on prime land at the end of the AD 6th–beginning of the 7th centuries in the centre of Madaba. These churches not only changed the city’s urban fabric, but also contributed to the formulation of its Christian identity. It is built above a Roman period temple. The church has a round nave, a vestibule, and an elongated presbytery to the east. A pulpit was located in the southeast corner of its nave. This church has the privilege of being the first church in Madaba the mosaic floor of which became known to scholars. Inscriptions on this floor identify it as the Church of the Virgin Mary. The church dates to the end of the sixth and the beginning of the seventh century, probably ca. AD 608, around the same time as the neighboring Church of Saint Elijah. Its inscriptions, however, are much later. An inscription in a round medallion within the church reads:
