JERUSALEM — Israeli archaeologists excavating on the grounds of a prison have discovered what they believe are the remnants of the earliest church ever discovered in the Holy Land.
Yotam Tepper, the dig’s chief archaeologist, said during a briefing for journalists Nov. 6 that the find “is certainly the earliest church in Israel that we know of.”
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced Nov. 3 that excavations at the Megiddo Prison had unearthed “a rare Christian religious structure” from the third to fourth centuries. An inscription on the floor stated that the structure had been dedicated to “The God Jesus Christ as a memorial.”
The excavations were launched seven months ago after construction workers preparing to expand the prison discovered artifacts that, according to the IAA, warranted further investigation. Construction work is routinely halted in Israel, where ancient ruins abound, when artifacts or bones are discovered so that archaeologists can perform what they call “rescue digs.”
The IAA said that three Greek inscriptions were discovered on the structure’s elaborate mosaic floor, which also contains motifs of fish — a symbol often used by early Christians — and geometric patterns.
Professor Leah Di-Segni of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, who translated the inscriptions, said the northernmost one had been dedicated by a military officer named Gaianus, who contributed to the construction of the mosaic floor from his own funds. The easternmost inscription memorializes four women: Primilia, Kiraka, Dorothea and Crista.
The westernmost inscription recalls “a certain god-loving Akeftos,” who donated the altar to “the God Jesus Christ as a memorial.”
Tepper said pottery shards dating back to the third century had been found atop the mosaic. This, coupled with the inscriptions’ wording and style of the letters, strongly suggests that the mosaic is from this time period as well, he said.
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