From https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5706/
Mount Gerizim, or Jebel et-Tor, is the sacred mountain of the Samaritans and has been so for thousands of years. It consists of three peaks, the main summit, the wide flat western hill and Tell er-Ras to the north. It has been traditionally identified with the sacred mountain upon which the Blessing was delivered by Divine decree, a claim which, in Samaritan belief, overrides that of the rival Temple of Jerusalem. On the summit is a rock which the Samaritans believe was the place where Abraham was about to sacrifice his son Isaac.
The Samaritans, now a small Palestinian community of only a few hundred people, believe the temple on the mountain top was the first temple built by Yosha’ Bin Noun in the Holy Land. Archaeologically, the temple discovered on the summit existed before the later 2nd century BC. It apparently lay within a considerable settlement area on the mountain top, which periodic archaeological excavation in the 20th century, and currently, shows was occupied, not necessarily continuously, during the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Islamic periods. The archaeological remains on the main summit consist of a large acropolis with paved temenos and massive fortifications with casemate walls and chamber gates, surrounded by a residential quarter. The ruins probably represent the Samaritan town during the Hellenistic period, destroyed by John Hyrcanus in 128 BC. In the early Roman period, the main summit seems to have been deserted, though a temple to Zeus was built just to the north on Tell er-Ras in the 2nd century AD, overlooking the city of Flavia Neapolis.
The Samaritans continued to focus on Mount Gerizim in their religious aspirations, occasioning a long-running dispute with Christians who also wanted to worship there. In 484 AD, during the reign of Emperor Zeno, a large octagonal church was built on the main summit, dedicated to Mary Theotokos. The church was turned into a fortress, later strengthened by Justinian, immediately after the Samaritan affront at the presence of a church on their sacred mountain had contributed to the revolt of 529 AD. The church was abandoned in the 8th century, and the fortress was dismantled in the 9th. In the 16th century a shrine of the Muslim saint Sheikh Ghanim was built on the east corner of the ruined church.
Mount Gerizim continues to be the religious centre of the Samaritans. Their village below and west of the summit, and originally temporarily occupied during the 40 days of the feast of the Passover, is developing with modern, permanent buildings, now including a museum displaying collections and all kinds of related cultural, religious and social testimonies. The site of the paschal sacrificial ceremony is now a permanent installation, designed to accommodate thousands of spectators. The Samaritans’ ceremonial progress to and around the mountain summit is a contemporary version of a tradition of worship which they believe to be thousands of years old.
Geographic location:
Mount Gerizim rises about 500 m above the ancient city of Flavia Neapolis (Nablus), some 886 m above sea level. North of Mount Gerizim rises Mount Ebal, 938 m above sea level; these two mountains being the highest in the Nablus region. At present, the mountain is surrounded by fertile agricultural land to the east and its northern slopes are densely forested. The Mount overlooks the city of Nablus and the archaeological site of Tell Balata, located in the valley between Mount Ebal to the north and Mount Gerizim to the south.