Ruins of Oldest Christian Church Found in Megiddo, Israel

Michael Ireland / Aimee Herd reporting : Nov 7, 2005
ASSIST News Service

The high security prison is located in the Megiddo area of Israel. Prisoners were allowed to help in the archaeological dig which eventually uncovered an ancient structure thought to date back to the third or forth century, A.D. (Photo courtesy of Channel 2.)

Sharon Rofeh-Ophir spoke about the finding, "Two weeks ago, diggers discovered what seems to be an architectural structure which was later identified as the remains of a church. Archeologists identified a spectacular mosaic floor and the foundations of a building dating back to the third or fourth century CE."

"The discovery sent joyous waves among archeologists working on the project who soon realized the magnitude of the discovery," continued Rofeh-Ophir, "ornaments paved the foundations of the church where inscriptions and biblical citations in old Greek were found. One of the inscriptions read that the building was dedicated to ‘the memory of the Lord Jesus Cristos.'"

Dig supervisor; Yotam Tefar said, "Christian religious buildings from that period are rare archeological findings in the Land of Israel. Mosaics in general and mosaics with inscriptions from the third and fourth centuries CE are the rarest. This is a unique building which is important for an initial understanding of Christianity as a well-known and official religion."

The report stated that an altar was found in the center of the building, and it was noted that the structure's era preceded the crucifix as a symbol of Christianity. Instead, the early church's fish symbol was found throughout most of the mosaic.