A Palestinian farmer who owns an orchard at the Bureij refugee camp in Gaza was planting an olive tree and began digging deeper when his son axe struck something unusually hard. The Good News Network reports that the son hit a large mosaic floor from the Byzantine era.
The farmer was able to identify the mosaic tiles after doing an internet search and immediately alerted the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. Experts believe that the mosaic could be just the first in a whole series of discoveries on the site.
A mosaic floor is pictured during the inauguration of Mukheitim archaeological site, which houses the remnants of a Byzantine church, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on January 24, 2022.
Unexpected Byzantine Mosaic Floor Found
Olive farmer Salman al-Nabahin was with his son, planting new trees on his land in the Gaza Strip, when they chanced upon the ancient relic from the Byzantine era. The well-preserved tile mosaic floor depicts birds and other animals.
The Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said that the archaeological discovery is still in its early stages and that they are waiting to know more about the secrets and civilization values. National research teams are currently working together with international experts and scientists from the French Archaeology School.
"I see it as a treasure, dearer than a treasure. It is a Palestinian legacy," Mr. Nabahim told Reuters. "It isn't personal, it belongs to every Palestinian."
René Elter, an archaeologist from the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem, said that the mosaic was "exceptional" in the sense that it could be the most beautiful mosaic floor discovered in Gaza in terms of the quality of the graphic representation and complexity of geometry.
He noted that there have been no mosaic floors ever with the kind of finesse Nabahim found in his land. The precision in the graphics and richness of the colors are truly out of the ordinary.
Archaeological finds, such as the file mosaic floor dating from the Byzantine era, Gaza, traditionally require the help of international antiquities excavators and archaeologists to study the ancient relic. The Gaza Strip is a site once known as a bustling trade route for civilizations that is rich with antiquities.
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The Byzantine Art
According to Britannica Encyclopedia, the Byzantine Empire is the eastern half of the Roman empire that survived for a thousand years after the western half crumbled into various feudal kingdoms. By 1453, the Byzantine empire finally fell to the Ottoman Turkish onslaughts and ended the empire.
During the late 10th and early 11th centuries, the Byzantine Empire enjoyed a golden age under the rule of the Macedonian dynasty founded by Basil, Michael III's successor.
The empire had more control over trade which gave them more wealth and international prestige under Justinian. Per History's article, the imperial government patronized Byzantine art, such as the tile floor mosaics.
Rulers have restored churches, palaces, and cultural institutions and even promoted the study of Greek history and literature. The empire adopted Greek as their official language and a flourishing culture of monasticism was centered on Mount Athos. Monks administered many institutions and Byzantine missionaries won many people to influence them to convert to Christianity.
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