Article author:
Reuters
LOD — A very well-preserved Roman floor mosaic showing a wide variety of fish, animals, birds and ships, the first place to be discovered on the outskirts of Tel Aviv after a 10-year tour. I'm back at. Some of the world's top museums.
The late Roman 1,700-year-old mosaic was discovered during the construction of a highway in 1996, but will not be on display until 2009, when sufficient funds were donated to preserve it. It was.
A colorful mosaic 17 meters (55 feet) long and about 9 meters (29 feet) wide could serve as the front door floor of a mansion in the wealthy district of the road near what is now Tel Aviv. There is sex. , Israeli ancient authorities said in a statement.
"The owner was probably a very wealthy merchant because he traveled around the world and saw all the ships and fish on display in the mosaic." Archaeologist Hagit Torge said. From the ancient Israeli authorities.
The mosaic design is influenced by the North African mosaic and lacks a depiction of the people. This suggests that it may have belonged to a Christian or Jew who wanted to avoid pagan attributes such as depictions of Roman gods. Amir Golsalzani, the ancient Israeli authority.
Mosaics will be exhibited at the Archaeological Center, which was built at the location where the Lod was discovered. (Written by Rinat Harash, additional report by Rami Amichai, edited by James Mackenzie, William Maclean)
