News by email Donate

Suggestions

Church in Jericho.JPG
Reuters
Church in Jericho.JPG
Reuters
World News

Preserved church complete with beautiful mosaic unearthed near Jericho

by Sophie Drew

A church – complete with decadent mosaics that date back to the early Christian church - has been unearthed in the West Bank.

It’s believed the church was built in the Sixth Century, and is around 250m in size.

Parts of the church – including the nave – are almost completely preserved despite an earthquake destroying large swathes of the area in the Seventh Century.

Mosaic installations show vines and animal figures, and an inscription above the entrance naming the men behind the build is still legible. 

The discovery was made near to Jericho by the Civil Administration, the Israeli governing body.

The head of the Civil Administration's archeology department Hananiah Hizami said: “I am excited about the amazing historical find, that joins a number of discoveries made by the Civil Administration’s archeology department. We’ll continue to work to discover and preserve the history of Judea and Samaria.”

Archaeologists have noted the extravagance of the design; the building contains materials that are not native to the area and have likely been transported a considerable way, suggesting the building was not inexpensive, and the builders were not afraid to splash some cash when designing it. 

The mosaic will now be replicated and placed in the Good Samaritan museum.

A Monthly Gift Of $11 Makes A World Of Difference

In a world of fake news there’s never been a greater need for quality Christian journalism. Premier’s mission is to provide the Church with the most up to date and relevant news, told from a Christian perspective. But we can’t do it without you.

Unlike many websites we haven't put up a paywall — we want to keep our journalism free at the point of need and as open as we can. Premier’s news output takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. No one in the USA is sharing news like we are across radio, magazines and online so please help us to continue that today.

For a monthly gift of $11 or more we’d also be able to send you a free copy of the brand new Premier Bible, a wonderful Anglicised version of the NLT packed with exclusive bonus content, reading plan and resources to help you get the most out of scripture.

Your monthly support will make a world of difference. Thank you.

Support Us
Continue the conversation on our Facebook page

Related Articles

Sign up to our newsletter to stay informed with news from a Christian perspective.

News by email

Connect

Donate

Donate