,500-year-old church found in Israel
【MSNBCより以下転載】
HIRBET MADRAS, Israel — Israeli archaeologists presented a newly uncovered 1,500-year-old church in the Judean hills on Wednesday, including an unusually well-preserved mosaic floor with images of lions, foxes, fish and peacocks.
The Byzantine church located southwest of Jerusalem, excavated over the last two months, will be visible only for another week before archaeologists cover it again with soil for its own protection.
The small basilica with an exquisitely decorated floor was active between the fifth and seventh centuries A.D., said the dig's leader, Amir Ganor of the Israel Antiquities Authority. He said the floor was "one of the most beautiful mosaics to be uncovered in Israel in recent years."
"It is unique in its craftsmanship and level of preservation," he said.
Archaeologists began digging at the site, known as Hirbet Madras, in December. The Antiquities Authority discovered several months earlier that antiquities thieves had begun plundering the ruins, which sit on an uninhabited hill not far from an Israeli farming community.
Though an initial survey suggested the building was a synagogue, the excavation revealed stones carved with crosses, identifying it as a church. The building had been built atop another structure around 500 years older, dating to Roman times, when scholars believe the settlement was inhabited by Jews.
Hewn into the rock underneath that structure is a network of tunnels that archaeologists believe were used by Jewish rebels fighting Roman armies in the second century A.D.
Stone steps lead down from the floor of church to a small burial cave, which scholars suggest might have been venerated as the burial place of the Old Testament prophet Zecharia.
Ganor said the church would remain covered until funding was obtained to open it as a tourist site.
Israel boasts an exceptionally high concentration of archaeological sites, including Crusader, Islamic, Byzantine, Roman, ancient Jewish and prehistoric ruins.
教会が見つかった場所。
記事内に書かれてますが、イスラエルって本当にいくらでも考古学的な発見が出てきますね。
これは1500年前のビザンチン教会が見つかったそうです。イスラエルでも珍しいほどの保存状態の良いモザイクの床だって。
職人技と保存状態の良さは、ピカイチみたいですね♪
最初はシナゴーグだと思ったようですが、ローマ時代に遡る紀元500年頃とか。
地下にはトンネルのネットワークがあって、ローマ軍と戦うのに使われてたんじゃないか？って。
教会の床から下っていく石の階段は小さな埋葬室へつながり、旧約聖書の預言者ザカリアの埋葬地として崇敬されていたかもしれないって。
ふむふむ、興味深いねぇ～。
