nikiTa
Definitively Illumined
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Registered: Jun 2004
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Discovery made on prison grounds near biblical site Armageddon
 Ariel Schalit / AP
Israeli prisoners Rizlov Ramil, top, and Biton Maymon, bottom, clean a section of a Christian mosaic floor dating to the third or fourth century A.D., in the compound of the Megiddo prison in northern Israel.
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Updated: 10:48 p.m. ET Nov. 6, 2005
MEGIDDO PRISON, Israel - Israeli prisoner Ramil Razilo was removing rubble from the planned site of a new prison ward when his shovel uncovered the edge of an elaborate mosaic, unveiling what Israeli archaeologists said Sunday may be the Holy Land’s oldest church.
The discovery of the church in the northern Israeli town of Megiddo, near the biblical Armageddon, was hailed by experts as an important discovery that could reveal details about the development of the early church in the region. Archaeologists said the church dated from the third century, decades before Constantine legalized Christianity across the Byzantine Empire.
“What’s clear today is that it’s the oldest archaeological remains of a church in Israel, maybe even in the entire region. Whether in the entire world, it’s still too early to say,” said Yotam Tepper, the excavation’s head archaeologist.
Israeli officials were giddy about the discovery, with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon calling the church “an amazing story.”
Vatican officials also hailed the find.
“A discovery of this kind will make Israel more interesting to all Christians, for the church all over the world,” said Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Vatican envoy to Jerusalem. “If it’s true that the church and the beautiful mosaics are from the third century, it would be one of the most ancient churches in the Middle East.”
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Two mosaics inside the church — one covered with fish, an ancient Christian symbol that predates the cross — tell the story of a Roman officer and a woman named Aketous who donated money to build the church in the memory “of the god, Jesus Christ.”
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That is REALLY cool.
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11-08-2005 12:07 AM
