Israel antiquities authority P.R.

An archaeological excavation conducted at the Megiddo Prison, ordered by the Israel Prison Service prior to construction of a new prison wing uncovered rare finds of unusual significance to the Christian world. The excavations were conducted with the notable cooperation of the Israel Prison Service. More than 60 prisoners from Megiddo and Tzalmon Prisons participated in the excavations over a number of months.

 

A structure measuring c. 6x9m was excavated and found to contain fresco collapsed onto a mosaic floor bearing three Greek inscriptions, geometric patterns and a medallion decorated with drawings of fish. The inscriptions were translated by Hebrew University Prof. Leah di Segni.

The inscription on the north side was dedicated to an army officer named Gaianos who contributed the mosaic floor. The east inscription is dedicated to the memory of four women: Frimilia, Kiriaka, Dorothea, and Karasta. The name Akaptos is memorialized in the western inscription as "Lover of God who contributed the altar to the god Jesus Christos, as a memorial."

 

Yotam Tepper, the excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), reports that "the wording of the inscriptions, letter forms,  finds and other epigraphical features date the structure to the 3-4^th centuries CE,. Such 3-4^th centuries structures are rare finds in Eretz-Israel. Mosaics, in general, and inscribed mosaics in particular from the 3^rd and 4^th centuries are very rare, as is the wording of the inscription. This structure is indeed unique and significant to the understanding of the development of early Christianity into a recognized and official religion."

Excavations in the west and upper sections of the Megiddo Prison yielded dwellings and other installations from the Byzantine period (4^th-6^th centuries). Layers below the Byzantine stratum were dated to the Roman period. Additionally, a  large Roman period Jewish ritual bath (miqweh) was found. This is the second miqweh found at Megiddo Prison. The first was uncovered in a salvage excavation during the British mandate period.

 

The excavation revealed that this miqweh was sealed during the Byzantine period and built upon later. This data matches the known historic information about the site, and changes that occurred there in the transition from a Roman period Jewish settlement (`Othnai village) to a Byzantine period Christian settlement (Maximianopolis).

 

Visit Israel Antiquities Athority (IAA) website for more information.

 

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