Beautiful Mosaics In 1,300-Year-Old Church Discovered In The Lower Galilee

Conny Waters - AncientPages.com - A month ago, beautiful mosaics were discovered in the remains of a 1,300-year-old located in the village of Kfar Kama in the Lower Galilee.

Mosaic floor of the ancient church in the village of Kfar Kama. Image credit: Alex Wiegmann/Israel Antiquities Authority

“The church, measuring 12 × 36 m., includes a large courtyard, a narthex foyer, and a central hall,” said IAA archaeologist Nurit Feig, adding that the discovery was made in the village of Kfar Kama in the Lower Galilee.

“This church presented three apses [prayer niches], The nave and the aisles were paved with mosaics which partially survived. Their colorful decoration stands out, incorporating geometric patterns, and blue, black, and red floral patterns. A special discovery was the small reliquary, a stone box used to preserve sacred relics.”

Dr. Shani Libbi, who operated a ground-penetrating radar inspection, said that there are several additional rooms and chambers at the site yet to be excavated.

Mosaic floor in the church in Kfar Kama, Israel.  Image credit: Alex Wiegmann/Israel Antiquities Authority

The researchers believe this large complex was once a monastery.

In the early 1960s, another church with two chapels was excavated inside the village of Kfar Kama and this structure was dated by the finds to the first half of the sixth century CE.

“This was probably the village church, whilst the church now discovered was probably part of a contemporary monastery on the outskirts of the village,” Prof. Moti Aviam of the Kinneret Academic College, who collaborated in the excavation, said.

The excavation site, Image credit: Alex Wigman/Israel Antiquities Authority

This new discovery shows the importance of the Christian village settled by the Circassian Shapsug tribe in the Byzantine period in the vicinity of Mount Tabor, located at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley, only 18 kilometers (11 mi) west of the Sea of Galilee.

The proximity of the center to Mount Tabor, an important site in the Christian tradition.

In Christian tradition, Mount Tabor is the site of the transfiguration of Jesus.

Written by Conny Waters - AncientPages.com Staff Writer