Archaeologists have reuncovered an ancient mosaic floor adorned with colorful floral designs after 40 years, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Sunday.
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Located along the Israel National Trail, the mosaic floor was once part of an ancient church and was first discovered in the 1980s, but has since been covered and inaccessible.
Earlier, a Roman-period rural villa was located at the site, and agricultural processing installations and several buildings that served the ancient residents remain extant.
The crunch was built during the Byzantine period and sat alongside an ancient road that connected the coastal area with the Judean Shephelah lowlands. It also included "refreshing stations" every few kilometers – Tel Tinshemet, Horvat El-Bira, and Horvat Hani, the last of which was also recently conserved by the IAA – that offered travelers a place to rest, recover and pray.
The authority, together with the Shoham Local Council and with the help of volunteers have prepared the side for visitors.
"It's quite feasible that the mosaic artisan sat here and was inspired by the anemones flowering all around him," IAA archaeologist Yair Amitzur said.
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