Posted on 11/06/2005 5:54:15 PM PST by gobucks
MEGIDDO PRISON, Israel - Israeli prisoner Ramil Razilo was removing rubble from the planned site of a new prison ward when his shovel uncovered the edge of an elaborate mosaic, unveiling what Israeli archaeologists said Sunday may be the Holy Lands oldest church.
The discovery of the church in the northern Israeli town of Megiddo, near the biblical Armageddon, was hailed by experts as an important discovery that could reveal details about the development of the early church in the region. Archaeologists said the church dated from the third century, decades before Constantine legalized Christianity across the Byzantine Empire.
Whats clear today is that its the oldest archaeological remains of a church in Israel, maybe even in the entire region. Whether in the entire world, its still too early to say, said Yotam Tepper, the excavations head archaeologist.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
wow! Thanks for posting all the pics.
Sorry. I put two words, "Church" and "Israel" in the search before I posted. Can't believe that none of the other articles included both words, but they didn't.
Here's what it says, first using the Greek characters themselves, then a transliteration using English characters, then two translations into English, changing the word order into normal English for the second. (BTW, the reason for the parentheses is that I'm filling in the missing letters on those abbreviations of sacred names.):
ΠΡΟΣΗΝΙΚΕΝ
ΑΚΕΠΤΟΥΣ
Η ΦΙΛΟΘΕΟΣ
ΤΗΝ ΤΡΑΠΕ-
ΖΑΝ Θ(Ε)Ω Ι(ΗΣΟ)Υ Χ(ΡΙΣΤ)Ω
ΜΝΗΜΟΣΥΝΟΝ
PROSĒNIKEN
AKEPTOUS
HĒ PHILOTHEOS
TĒN TRAPE-
ZAN TH(E)Ō I(ĒSO)U CH(RIST)Ō
MNĒMOSYNON
OFFERED
AKEPTOUS
THE GOD-LOVER
THE TAB-
LE TO THE G(O)D J(ESU)S CH(RIS)T
MEMORIAL
Akeptous the God-lover offered the table to the God Jesus Christ as a memorial
Many many thanks for your informative contribution to this thread.
Thanks!
A wonderful discovery!
old and greek ping! ;)
Thank you! Simply spectacular.
Interesting
A tourist site right up against a jail -- security problem?
What a wonderful find. Amazing fish mozaic.
Is this as it was found or has there been restoration work done on the tiles?
From what I read, this has just been discovered by accident in the last couple weeks. Once they uncovered it and took off the dirt, all they did to make the colors and details stand out more clearly was apply a wet sponge.
You're pretty smart for a White Sox fan.
What may amaze you even more is that I am first and foremost a Cubs fan!
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