The 1500-year-old mosaic found in Israel contains a map of an ancient Egyptian settlement

1500-year-old mosaic depicts the urban landscape of Hortaso (Egypt). According to the Christian tradition, this place is considered the last refuge of the Prophet Abakum.

On September 29, the Israeli Antiquities Department announced the first public display of a complex mosaic that was discovered two years ago.

Features of the find

Mosaic dates from the Byzantine period. It shows the streets and buildings located on the map. According to the inscription in Greek, the map depicts Hortaso, the ancient city in Egypt, which is considered the burial place of the Prophet Abakum (the name of the biblical prophet in Hebrew).

The mosaic found was decorated with the floor of the church about 1500 years ago, argue archaeologists. Today, this place is the industrial park of the city of Kiryat Gat in Israel.

The appearance of the map of this Egyptian city in the public building of Kiryat Gata can indicate the origin of this church meeting.

The church itself is not there for a long time, but the mosaic floor remained. Thanks to the financing of the company that manages the industrial park, where the mosaic was discovered, the archaeologists managed to dig carefully and transfer the mosaic for its further preservation two years ago. Now they have returned a sample of ancient art to its former place. Public access to the find was opened on October 1 during a festival in an industrial park.

What is depicted on the mosaic?

The mosaic is made of 17 different tile colors. In one of the surviving fragments one can see a rooster and a deer, and in the second one there is a cup filled with red fruits. Another fragment depicts an Egyptian settlement with buildings, roads and sailing boats. The image of buildings is very detailed. They have two or three floors, galleries, balconies, windows. You can even see the shingles.

Raw materials and image quality are the best that have ever been found in Israel, argue archaeologists.

Byzantine period

Although, according to the Christian tradition, Abakum's grave is in Hortaso, the final place of his burial is unknown. Today both in Israel and Iran claim that the grave of the prophet is located on their territory. However, the Byzantine period in Israel was a time of complex church construction. And a complex mosaic on the floor was part of these houses for worship. The Byzantine Empire stretched from Italy through modern Greece and Turkey to Syria, Lebanon and Israel. It flourished since the collapse of the Roman Empire (circa 476) and ending in 1453.