'Archaeological miracle': Construction workers stumble upon sixth-century mosaic in Jerusalem

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A 1,500-year-old mosaic floor with a Greek inscription has been uncovered during works to install communications cables in Jerusalem's Old City — a rare discovery of an ancient relic and an historic document in one.

Key points: The mosaic was found among 'severely damaged' ancient remains

Archaeologists say the inscription dates it to AD 550/551

The mosaic has been removed and is being treated in a specialised workshop

The inscription cites sixth-century Roman emperor Justinian, under whose rule the Roman Empire finished converting to Christianity, as well as Constantine, who served as abbot of a church founded by Justinian in Jerusalem.

Archaeologists believe it will help them to understand Justinian's building projects in the city.

The full inscription reads:

"The most pious Roman emperor Flavius Justinian and the most God-loving priest and abbot, Constantine, erected the building in which (this mosaic) sat during the 14th indiction."

Indiction is an ancient method of counting years that was used for taxation purposes.

Archaeologists said the inscription suggests the mosaic dated to the year AD 550/551.

Justinian was one of the most important rulers of the Byzantine era.

In AD 543 he established the Nea Church in Jerusalem — one of the biggest Christian churches in the eastern Roman Empire and the largest in Jerusalem at the time.

The Nea Church was partially excavated in 1970, and contains an inscription similar to the newly discovered mosaic.

"The fact that the inscription survived is an archaeological miracle," David Gellman, director of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said in a statement.

"The excavation, in a relatively small area, exposed ancient remains that were severely damaged by infrastructure groundwork over the last few decades.

"We were about to close the excavation, when all of a sudden a corner of the mosaic inscription peeked out between the pipes and cables."

He said every archaeologist dreams of finding an inscription, "especially one so well preserved and almost entirely intact".

Researchers believe that the building of which the mosaic was once part, located beside the Old City's Damascus Gate, was used as a hostel for pilgrims.

The Damascus Gate was the main northern entrance to Jerusalem for hundreds of years, Dr Gellman said, and the area become one of the most important and active areas of the city with the emergence of Christianity in the Byzantine period.

The mosaic was discovered earlier this (northern) summer.

Conservation experts have removed the mosaic and are treating it in a specialist workshop.

ABC/Reuters

Topics: archaeology, history, human-interest, israel, palestinian-territory-occupied

First posted</s>A 1,500-year-old mosaic floor with a Greek inscription has been uncovered during works to install communications cables in Jerusalem's Old City — a rare discovery of an ancient relic and an historic document in one.

The inscription cites sixth-century Roman emperor Justinian, under whose rule the Roman Empire finished converting to Christianity, as well as Constantine, who served as abbot of a church founded by Justinian in Jerusalem.

Archaeologists believe it will help them to understand Justinian's building projects in the city.

Indiction is an ancient method of counting years that was used for taxation purposes.

Archaeologists said the inscription suggests the mosaic dated to the year AD 550/551.

Justinian was one of the most important rulers of the Byzantine era.

In AD 543 he established the Nea Church in Jerusalem — one of the biggest Christian churches in the eastern Roman Empire and the largest in Jerusalem at the time.

The Nea Church was partially excavated in 1970, and contains an inscription similar to the newly discovered mosaic.

"The fact that the inscription survived is an archaeological miracle," David Gellman, director of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said in a statement.

"The excavation, in a relatively small area, exposed ancient remains that were severely damaged by infrastructure groundwork over the last few decades.

"We were about to close the excavation, when all of a sudden a corner of the mosaic inscription peeked out between the pipes and cables."

He said every archaeologist dreams of finding an inscription, "especially one so well preserved and almost entirely intact".

Researchers believe that the building of which the mosaic was once part, located beside the Old City's Damascus Gate, was used as a hostel for pilgrims.

The Damascus Gate was the main northern entrance to Jerusalem for hundreds of years, Dr Gellman said, and the area become one of the most important and active areas of the city with the emergence of Christianity in the Byzantine period.

The mosaic was discovered earlier this (northern) summer.

Conservation experts have removed the mosaic and are treating it in a specialist workshop.</s>Further evidence of the spread of Hellenic culture has been found in the form of a 1,500-year-old mosaic floor with a Greek inscription uncovered during works to install communications cables in Jerusalem’s Old City.

It was a rare discovery of an ancient relic and an historic document in one, citing 6th-Century Roman Emperor Justinian as well as Constantine, who served as Abbot of a church founded by Justinian in Jerusalem. Archaeologists believe it will help them to understand Justinian’s building projects in the city, the news agency Reuters said in a report on the discovery.

The full inscription reads: “The most pious Roman emperor Flavius Justinian and the most God-loving priest and abbot, Constantine, erected the building in which (this mosaic) sat during the 14th indiction,” an ancient method of counting years used for taxation purposes. Archaeologists said the inscription suggests the mosaic dated to the year 550/551 AD.

Justinian was one of the most important rulers of the Byzantine era. In 543 AD he established the Nea Church in Jerusalem – one of the biggest Christian churches in the eastern Roman Empire and the largest in Jerusalem at the time.

“The fact that the inscription survived is an archaeological miracle,” David Gellman, Director of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said in a statement.

“Every archaeologist dreams of finding an inscription in their excavations, especially one so well preserved and almost entirely intact.”

Researchers said they believe that the building of which the mosaic was once part, located beside the Old City’s Damascus Gate, was used as a hostel for pilgrims.</s>It was uncovered below street level by workers who were reportedly digging to lay a cable network.

The mosaic is believed by researchers to be from the floor of a hotel for the city's religious pilgrims.

The pilgrims are believed to have been flocking to Jerusalem as Christianity took hold of the Eastern Roman Empire, which became known as the Byzantine Empire.

The inscription cites 6th-century Roman emperor Justinian as well as Constantine, who served as abbot of a church founded by Justinian in Jerusalem.</s>Archaeologists have uncovered a mosaic near Jerusalem's Old City that dates back 1,500 years to the Byzantine era, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced on Wednesday.

The approximately 1 meter by 80 centimetre mosaic floor has a Greek inscription praising East Roman emperor Justinian I.

According to the IAA, the location of the mosaic was likely a building used as a hostel for Christian pilgrims.

"The emperor was one the most important rulers of the Byzantine period, and was one of the most colourful and charismatic rulers of antiquity," said David Gellman, the director of the excavation.

"Under his reign, the Roman empire was at its strongest, and its conversion to Christianity was completed."

The mosaic was discovered near Damascus Gate in East Jerusalem, which is now the main entryway to the Old City's Muslim Quarter. Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and subsequently annexed the area in a move that was not internationally recognized.

"We were about to close the excavation, when all of a sudden, a corner of the mosaic inscription peeked out between the pipes and cables," said Gellman in a statement. "Amazingly, it had not been damaged."</s>Archaeologists have discovered a 1,500-year-old Greek mosaic in east Jerusalem, by the city's Damascus Gate.

The 1.2m (4ft) well-preserved piece was discovered below street level and is believed to be from the floor of a hostel for the city's religious pilgrims.</s>An ancient Greek inscription was found on a 1,500-year-old mosaic floor near the Damascus Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Byzantine emperor Justinian, who ruled in the 6th century A.D., is mentioned in the inscription, which was deciphered by Dr. Leah Di Segni of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. It reads: “In the time of our most pious emperor Flavius Justinian, also this entire building Constantine the most God-loving priest and abbot, established and raised, in the 14th indiction.”

EXPERTS UNCOVER EVIDENCE OF ANCIENT JERUSALEM'S DESTRUCTION BY THE BABYLONIANS

In a statement released by the Israel Antiquities Authority, Dr. Di Segni explained that the inscription commemorates the building’s founding by a priest called Constantine. “Indiction,” she noted, is an ancient method of counting years that was used for taxation purposes. The mosaic has been dated to 550 or 551 A.D - experts believe that the room was used as a hostel for pilgrims.

The floor was discovered this summer during preparations for laying communications cables near the Damascus Gate. “The fact that the inscription survived is an archaeological miracle,” said David Gellman, who directed the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority. Gellman noted that ancient remains at the site had been badly damaged by groundwork in recent decades. “We were about to close the excavation, when all of a sudden, a corner of the mosaic inscription peeked out between the pipes and cables. Amazingly, it had not been damaged.”

An important historical figure, Flavius Justinian was emperor when the later Roman empire completed its conversion to Christianity. He also established a large church in Jerusalem dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus, known as The Nea Church, also known as The New Church. The church’s abbot was Constantine, whose name also appears on the mosaic floor near the Damascus Gate.

Di Segni notes that the mosaic floor inscription is similar to an inscription found in the vaults of The Nea Church. "This new inscription helps us understand Justinian's building projects in Jerusalem, especially the Nea Church,” she wrote. “The rare combination of archaeological finds and historical sources, woven together, is incredible to witness, and they throw important light on Jerusalem's past."

LOST ROMAN CITY THAT WAS HOME TO JESUS' APOSTLES FOUND, SAY ARCHAEOLOGISTS

The ancient mosaic inscription has been removed from the site and is being treated at the Israel Antiquities Authority’s mosaic workshop in Jerusalem.

The discovery is just the latest fascinating archaeological find in Jerusalem.

Archaeologists excavating the City of David in Israel’s Jerusalem Walls National Park recently uncovered charred wood, grape seeds, pottery, fish scales and bones and numerous rare artifacts that date back to the city’s demise at the hands of the Babylonians more than 2,600 years ago.</s>JERUSALEM-Israeli archaeologists on Wednesday unveiled a 1,500-year-old portion of mosaic floor bearing the names of Byzantine Emperor Justinian and a senior Orthodox priest.

David Gellman, director of the excavation in east Jerusalem's walled Old City, said that while the area was rich in archaeological finds, few such inscriptions had been found.

"Direct text and letters from people back then are relatively rare," he told AFP.

The Greek inscription, dated at 550 or 551 AD, commemorates the founding of a building thought to be a hostel for pilgrims near the city's Damascus Gate.

Constantine, the Orthodox priest who founded it, was abbot of the Nea Church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary and the largest church in Jerusalem when it was built in 543 AD.

Gellman said the rectangular section of mosaic, 1.14 metres (3 foot 7 inches) on its longest side, "tells us about the way churches and monasteries worked back then. It makes this piece very unique".

"It tells us that the abbot, the head of the big church in Jerusalem, was not only the head of that specific church," he said.

It was discovered intact about a metre (three feet) below street level as Gellman and his team made a routine exploratory dig ahead of the arrival of workers to lay communications cables.

"We were very close to closing the excavation when I noticed that a few of the mosaic stones, which were otherwise plain white, were at a different angle and seemed to be a little darker," he said.

"I cleaned up that small corner... and found that it was the bottom left corner of the inscription itself," he added.

"At that moment I realised that we have a very unique find here."

The Old City lies in east Jerusalem, seized by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed in a move never recognised by the international community.</s>A conservationist works on a 1500-year-old mosaic floor bearing a Greek writing, discovered near Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City, as it is displayed at the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem August 23, 2017. — Reuters picJERUSALEM, Aug 23 — A 1,500-year-old mosaic floor with a Greek inscription has been uncovered during works to install communications cables in Jerusalem’s Old City - a rare discovery of an ancient relic and an historic document in one.

The inscription cites 6th-century Roman emperor Justinian as well as Constantine, who served as abbot of a church founded by Justinian in Jerusalem. Archaeologists believe it will help them to understand Justinian’s building projects in the city.

The full inscription reads: “The most pious Roman emperor Flavius Justinian and the most 6God-loving priest and abbot, Constantine, erected the building in which (this mosaic) sat during the 14th indiction.”

Indiction is an ancient method of counting years that was used for taxation purposes. Archaeologists said the inscription suggests the mosaic dated to the year 550/551 AD.

Justinian was one of the most important rulers of the Byzantine era. In 543 AD he established the Nea Church in Jerusalem - one of the biggest Christian churches in the eastern Roman Empire and the largest in Jerusalem at the time.

“The fact that the inscription survived is an archaeological miracle,” David Gellman, director of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said in a statement.

“Every archaeologist dreams of finding an inscription in their excavations, especially one so well preserved and almost entirely intact.”

Researchers believe that the building of which the mosaic was once part, located beside the Old City’s Damascus Gate, was used as a hostel for pilgrims.

The mosaic, which was unveiled to the media on Wednesday, was discovered earlier this summer. Conservation experts have removed the mosaic and are treating it in a specialist workshop. — Reuters</s>A 1,500-year-old Christian mosaic floor with a Greek inscription has been uncovered during work to install communications cables in Jerusalem's Old City.

The inscription cites 6th-century Roman emperor Justinian as well as Constantine, who served as abbot of a church founded by Justinian in Jerusalem.

Archaeologists believe it will help them to understand Justinian's building projects in the city.

Justinian was one of the most important rulers of the Byzantine era. In 543 AD he established the Nea Church in Jerusalem - one of the biggest Christian churches in the eastern Roman Empire and the largest in Jerusalem at the time. During Justinian's reign he became famous for many modern reforms, including protection for prostitutes and wives who had been mistreated by their husbands. Under his rule the empire completed its conversion from paganism to Christianity. Archaeologists believe the find will help them to understand Justinian's building projects in the city.

The full inscription reads: 'The most pious Roman emperor Flavius Justinian and the most God-loving priest and abbot, Constantine, erected the building in which (this mosaic) sat during the 14th indiction.'

Indiction is an ancient method of counting years that was used for taxation purposes.

Archaeologists said the inscription suggests the mosaic dated to the year 550/551 AD.

Justinian was one of the most important rulers of the Byzantine era.

In 543 AD he established the Nea Church in Jerusalem - one of the biggest Christian churches in the eastern Roman Empire and the largest in Jerusalem at the time.

Under Emperor Justinian the empire completed its conversion from paganism to Christianity.

Constantine was the abbot - which explains why he is mentioned in this inscription.

'The fact that the inscription survived is an archaeological miracle,' said David Gellman, director of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

'Every archaeologist dreams of finding an inscription in their excavations, especially one so well preserved and almost entirely intact.'

Researchers believe that the building of which the mosaic was once part, located beside the Old City's Damascus Gate, was used as a hostel for pilgrims.

During Justinian's reign he became famous for many modern reforms, including protection for prostitutes and wives who had been mistreated by their husbands.

The mosaic, which was unveiled to the media this week, was discovered earlier this summer.

Conservation experts have removed the mosaic and are treating it in a specialist workshop.
A 6th century mosaic dated from the rule of Justinian I is discovered while installing communication cables in Jerusalem's Old City.