Christian Oil Lamp Beth Shean 5th-6th century CE Bronze, height 16 cm., length 21.5 cm. Excavations of the Israel Dept. of Antiquities and Museums. This lamp, cast in one piece except for the lid of the filling hole, was excavated in a Byzantine building in Beth Shean, known as the “mansion” because of its size […]
Byzantine Gold Ring Byzantine gold ring depicting the Church of the Holy Sepulchre found by Yaakov Meshorer. Meshorer, Yaakov. “Ancient Gold Ring Depicts the Holy Sepulchre.” Biblical Archaeology Review, May-Jun 1986.
Arch of the Hurva Synagogue Byzantine arch found by Hillel Geva in 2006. The diggers also found a small weapons arsenal, where defenders of the Jewish quarter stashed mortar shells and grenades during the Independence War. “Byzantine arch found at renovated J’lem Synagogue,” Haaretz, November 29, 2006. Israel Antiquities Authority
Temple Mount Mosaic Zachi Zweig announced that he made an interesting discovery in the British archaeological archives at the Israel Antiquities Authority in Jerusalem. Although we have no written historical evidence of a Byzantine structure on the Temple Mount, R.W. Hamilton uncovered and photographed a Byzantine mosaic on the mount. He carried out excavations in […]
Earliest church found at Megiddo “The god-loving Keptous has offered the table to God Jesus Christ as a memorial.” Akeptous Inscription 1 Akeptous Inscription 2 Pious artwork from the hands of an artist named Brutius graces the floor of the Christian prayer hall at Megiddo. Four mosaic panels—one on each side of what must have […]
Lead Foil Magic Amulet 1 Lead Foil Magic Amulet 2 Lead Levant or Asia Minor Late Roman-Byzantine period Fourth -sixth centuries CE 22. Width- 5.1 cm, height- 4.3 cm, 23. Width- 4.8 cm, height- 4.2 cm, Although not yet deciphered, it should be noted from the forms of the letters that these amulets were probably […]
The Sassanian Persian Empire was founded in 226 CE, with Ardashir I’s defeat of the last Parthian king, Artabanus V. This battle was commemorated in a rock relief near the ancient Persian capital of Persepolis. Before ascending the throne of the empire, Ardashir I (reigned 224-241) was a minor king of Persis in the southern […]
This is Yigael Yadin’s description of the discovery of the mosaic floor in the Byzantine chapel of Masada. Byzantine Chapel at Masada. The mosaic floor. To the south of the residential building stands a well-preserved structure which was always the first and most conspicuous ruin to catch the eye of visitors who had been attracted […]
White limestone Roman province of Palaestina Late Roman-Byzantine period Third – fourth centuries CE Width- 72 cm, height- 37 cm, thickness 21.5 cm The translation of the fragmentary three ¬line inscription written in Greek is- “The One God- Bring help to […] gorios and his son Ky[rill?]os”. Only the upper margin of the text is […]
Codex Sinaiticus St Luke’s Gospel, ‘Codex Sinaiticus’, c.350 Despite its rather austere appearance, the Codex Sinaiticus is a treasure beyond price. Produced in the middle of the fourth century, the Codex is one of the two earliest Christian Bibles. (The other is the Codex Vaticanus in Rome.) Within its beautifully handwritten Greek text are the […]