The 1,800-year-old mosaic depicts three prosperous-looking males wearing togas. The colorful "high-quality" mosaic is a first of its kind to be found in Israel.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Guez
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Archaeologists in Israel have discovered a Roman-era mosaic in the historic coastal city of Caesarea, the country's antiquities body said on Thursday.
The mosaic, dating back to the 2nd or 3rd century AD, was discovered during the excavation of a building from the Byzantine period — some 300 years younger than the mosaic it was hiding.
"The surprise was actually that we found two beautiful monuments from the glorious days of Caesarea," Peter Gendelman, co-director of excavation for the Israel Antiquities Authority, said referring to the building and mosaic.
The excavated portion of the mosaic, which measures about 3.5 meters by 8 meters (11 feet by 26 feet) in size, depicts three prosperous-looking males wearing togas, one facing the viewer and the other two in profile. It also bears geometric patterns and an inscription in Greek, which is damaged.
Archaeologists discover new mummy burial site in Egypt
A catacomb with 17 mummies lay untouched for 2,000 years before the University of Cairo came digging.
Image: Reuters/M.A. El Ghany
Dated to the Greco-Roman era
The artifacts found with mummies date back the era that started with Alexander the Great's conquest of Egypt. They were the first human mummies discovered in the area, a site rich in artifacts which lies near the Nile Valley city of Minya.
Image: Reuters/M.A. El Ghany
Mostly intact
The eight-meter (9-yard) deep necropolis included six sarcophagi, two clay coffins, two papyri written in demotic script and several vessels. The mummies were elaborately preserved and were likely officials and priests.
Image: Reuters/M.A. El Ghany
More to come
At the edge of the necropolis, legs and feet of other mummies could be seen, pointing to a much bigger find. Excavation is still at the preliminary stage.
Image: Reuters/M.A. El Ghany
Message from the ancestors
Egypt's economically-vital tourism industry has largely collapsed since the 2011 uprising against longtime dictator Hosny Mubarak. The Ministry of Antiquities said the latest finds were "as if our ancestors are sending a message for tourism to come back strongly."
Image: Reuters/M.A. El Ghany
Latest in a series
The discovery comes after a series of important finds in Egypt. Eight mummies were uncovered inside a 3,500-year-old tomb in the southern city of Luxor in April. A month earlier, a massive colossus likely depicting the 26th dynasty King Psamtik I was unearthed in Cairo.
Image: Reuters/M.A. El Ghany
Burial shafts
Salah al-Kholi, a Cairo University professor of Egyptology who headed the expedition, said his team found burial shafts and that excavation work "revealed that these shafts led to a number of corridors inside a cachette of mummies."
Image: Reuters/M.A. El Ghany
So many mummies
Kholi said the discovery was "the first human necropolis found in central Egypt with so many mummies." There could be as many as 32 mummies in the chamber, including mummies of women, children and infants.
Image: Reuters/M.A. El Ghany
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'High-quality' discovery
It's not yet clear if the mosaic was part of a private mansion or a public building.
If the mosaic came from a mansion, the figures could have been the owners, or if it was a public building, they may have been the mosaic's donors or members of the city council, Gendelman said.
The mosaic was of a high artistic standard, with about 12,000 stones per square meter, the antiquities authority said.
While such "high-quality" mosaics have been found in Cyprus and northern Syria in the past, it's a first in Israel.
Caesarea, located 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of capital Tel Aviv, was a Roman metropolis built in honor of Emperor Augustus Caesar by King Herod, who ruled what was then Judea from 37 BC until his death in 4 BC.
