The remains of a luxury estate dating back 1,200 have been unveiled at an Israeli Antiquities Authority excavation at the Bedouin town Rahat, the first such discovery identified in the Negev Desert.
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The estate, located at a depth of 5.5 meters (18 feet) held a surprise for archaeologists – a complex of vaults, at the bottom of which lies a water cistern carved out of rock.
Experts have dated the building to the early Islamic Period. It was constructed around a central courtyard, with four wings, each of which included different rooms for various needs. One wing included a hall paved in marble and stone, whose walls were adorned with frescoes. Remnants of the frescoes show that they were originally painted in vibrant shades of red, yellow, blue, and black.
Other rooms were plastered, and some were outfitted with large ovens apparently used for cooking.
Small artifacts recovered from the dig include fragments of decorated glass serving vessels.
According to Oren Shmoeli, Dr. Elena Kogan Zahavi and Dr. Noah David Michael, the heads of the excavations for the Antiquities Authority, the finding is "unique."
VIDEO: A rare ancient mosque has been excavated in the Bedouin town of Rahat, in the southern Negev desert of Israel.
Officials from the country's Antiquities Authority says the discovery sheds light on the region's transition from Christianity to Islam. pic.twitter.com/totY9jEEJD— AFP News Agency (@AFP) June 26, 2022
"We were surprised to discover at a depth of five and a half meters below the level of the courtyard a system of stone vaults, which rose to a height of two and a half meters. The vaults were carefully constructed and have apparently led to additional underground systems which have yet to be excavated," they told Channel 12 News.
"It seems that the underground stone vaults were intended as a support and allowed visitors to the house to walk safely and comfortably to enter subterranean spaces – cellars where they could store food at a relatively cool and protect themselves from the heat," they added.
IAA Director Eli Eskozido said, "The excavation at Rahat is the result of close cooperation between the IAA and the Authority for the Development and Settlement of the Bedouin in the Negev."
According to Eskozido, "The grand estate was discovered between two areas in which some of the oldest mosques in the world have been unearthed. These Islamic finds were uncovered in the area on which Rahat would be built, much to the residents' excitement. The Israel Antiquities Authority and the Bedouin Authority, along with the Rahat Municipality, are now working on a plan to preserve, develop, and display the finds to the general public."
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
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