Posted on 01/23/2014 9:46:08 AM PST by Biggirl
A 1,500-year-old church complete with a sophisticated mosaic was uncovered by archaeologists in southern Israel.
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) say the Byzantine-era structure "probably served as a center of Christian worship for neighboring communities."
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Predates Islam. Better keep the fresco-eating muslims away.
Being in Israel, it will have a better chance of being protected from any vandalism.
So, Christianity predates any Muslim claims to the Holy Land eh?
*ping*
Authorities are going to remove the mosaic and cover the site back up to preserve it. Oh well, it appears to be quite large by ancient standards. A few years back I was walking through a nice suburban neighborhood in Ashkelon not far from the beach and all of a sudden I stumbled on a small but beautiful Byzantine era ruin of a church. Pretty amazing just in between some houses. Wish I had had a camera on me at the time. This new find isn’t far from Ashkelon - a few miles north. It boggles the mind how much history is under the earth out there evidenced whenever construction or digging goes on. A major headache and more likely a nightmare for developers unfortunately.
Seems like a good problem to have. :’)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
