Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announce they have found the 1,500-year-old ruins of a Christian church near Abu Gosh, a small town located 6.2 miles (10 km) west of Jerusalem.
Aerial view of the site. Image credit: Israel Antiquities Authority / Skyview Company.
The Byzantine church was originally about 52 feet (16 m) long, and had a side chapel – 21 feet (6.5 m) long and 11.5 feet (3.5 m) wide – and a white mosaic floor.
A baptismal font in the shape a four-leafed clover (symbolizing the cross) was installed in the chapel’s northeast corner.
“Fragments of red-colored plaster found in the rubble strewn throughout the building showed that the church walls had been decorated with frescoes,” said Dr Annette Nagar of IAA.
According to Dr Nagar and her colleagues, the church was part of a large road station used by travelers between Jerusalem and the coastal plain.
“To the west of the church were rooms that were probably used as dwelling quarters and for storage. One of them contained a large quantity of pottery tiles.”
The baptismal font at a Byzantine-period church. Image credit: Annette Nagar / Israel Antiquities Authority.
Dr Nagar said: “the road station and its church were built in the Byzantine period beside the ancient road leading between Jerusalem and the coastal plain.”
“Along this road, which was apparently already established in the Roman period, other settlements and road stations have previously been discovered that served those traveling the route in ancient times. Included in the services provided along the route were churches, such as the one recently uncovered at the entrance to Abu Gosh.”
“Other churches have been recorded in the past in Abu Gosh, Qiryat Ye’arim, and Emmaus. This road station ceased to be used at the end of the Byzantine period, although the road beside which it was built was renewed and continued to be in use until modern times.”
The excavations also revealed numerous artifacts like oil lamps, coins, special glass vessels, marble fragments, and mother-of-pearl shells.
