Megiddo Christian Church

• Scientific Summary of the Authority's excavation at the Megiddo Prison and its recommendation for moving the prison - "The Antiquities Authority recommends moving the prison and places utmost importance on preservation of the archeological assemblage uncovered in the excavations. This preference stems from the magnitude of these finds and their significance for culture and heritage not only of Israel, but for the whole world, and will enable the preservation and display of the site and the mosaic floor, in their original context, integrated with their environs. "

By Scott Wilson

THE WASHINGTON POST

Monday, November 7, 2005

MEGIDDO, Israel -- Israeli state archaeologists have discovered mosaics, pottery and other remains of a Roman-era Christian building on the grounds of a high-security prison and say the site could be the oldest public place of Christian worship ever uncovered in Israel and perhaps one of the earliest such sites in the world.

The mosaic floor of the structure was discovered last week by an Israeli prisoner working on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The agency has been excavating the Megiddo compound for more than a year to ensure that nothing of historic value is lost during an ongoing renovation.

At a news conference Sunday, Yardena Alexandre, a spokeswoman for the authority, called the discovery "one of the most important finds for the history of early Christianity."

State archaeologists said that judging by the age of broken pottery discovered on the floor, the distinctive mosaic style, inscriptions citing Jesus and the apparent pre-Byzantine design of the building, the structure was most likely a public place of Christian worship that dates to the mid-third or early fourth century.

If that's true, the find would join the early third-century Christian gathering place at Dura Europus in Syria as one of the oldest of its kind.

At that time, near the end of the Roman Empire, Christianity was an outlawed religion practiced in the Holy Land in the clandestine chapels of private homes.

Archaeologists involved in the excavation were reluctant to describe the remains as a church because the term was not used during that period. But they said its inscribed dedications to community figures, mosaics of fish and specific mention of "the God Jesus Christ" were proof that it was a public building used in Christian worship, the sort of structure archaeologists had read about in historical texts but had never uncovered.

"The most important thing about this is that it is the oldest Christian building we have found in archaeological form," said Yotam Tepper, the archaeologist in charge of the excavation. "The problem is that we didn't have churches at that time."

Some archaeologists not involved in the project said the conclusions, though tantalizing, might be premature given that only 10 percent of the site has been excavated. Workers have yet to turn up a dated inscription or other evidence that firmly establishes the year the structure was built.

Zeev Weiss, an archaeology professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem who runs the largest excavation project in the Galilee region, said: "There is no question that what they have found is connected to Christianity. The only questions concern the design of the structure, the use of the structure and the date. To my mind, they don't really know what they have."

The Israeli army built the Megiddo prison in 1982, and the compound now holds 1,200 high-security Palestinian inmates. Earlier this year, the army turned over the collection of tent encampments to the national prison authority, which has been replacing the tents with hardened cellblocks.

Archaeologists were well aware of the rich history of Megiddo, also known as Armageddon, the place where the Bible says the ultimate battle of good and evil will be waged. Because of that history, archaeological excavation has preceded each phase of the prison's expansion.

Israeli prisoners, the only inmates allowed to work inside the grounds, began about six weeks ago surveying the area where the mosaic floor was found. It was scheduled to be cleared for construction two days after the discovery was made.

Covered by scaffolding and a black tarp, the site is roughly the size of a tennis court, with fragile mosaics covering approximately half of it.

Tepper said the building does not follow the basilica plan, characterized by colonnades along a central nave leading to a rounded apse. He said the simple design suggests that it predates Christianity's legalization.

The oldest definitively dated church in Israel is in Ramle, where, inscriptions say, the structure was built in 376.

Some archaeologists believe that the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, which tradition says marks the spot where Jesus was crucified and entombed, was built in 330 by Constantine's mother. This site would predate those by decades.

The base of a column is visible along the low ruins of one wall. Archaeologists say it arched over the floor to support a stone roof, indicating that the building was probably among the grandest in the area.

The intricacy of the mosaic floors also suggests that it was more than a private home, archaeologists say, although some of the region's wealthy residents might have had such design flourishes in their houses.

In the coming weeks, Israeli officials will determine what to do with the site. The options include digging up the area and moving it or separating it from the rest of the prison and making it the centerpiece of a small museum.