Ancient Byzantine Church Uncovered in Gush Etzion: Stunning Discovery!

Michael Bachner : Mar 29, 2016
Breaking Israel News

“The findings at the church indicate great wealth. There were many types of marble and glass used and it had drainage channels, a rare feature for Byzantine churches. It also had an underground crypt with two staircases leading down to it, which is also a very rare feature." -Haim Shkolnik

(Israel)—A colorful mosaic and various archaeological artifacts have been recently unearthed at the site of a large, uniquely structured Byzantine basilica in Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem. (Photo: Hillel Maeir/TPS)

The discovery was made at the Khirbet Bureikut archaeological site in Migdal Oz, where the Byzantine church was originally discovered in 1977, and indicates that the inhabitants there were very wealthy. The newly discovered mosaic indicates that the church was originally built in the fourth century, according to Hananya Hizmi, Head Staff Officer of Archaeology of the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria.

“We started to expand the excavation at the end of 2015 to find out where all this wealth came from, since this area was probably isolated from major communities during the Byzantine era," Haim Shkolnik, who led the excavation on behalf of the Archeology Staff Officer, told Tazpit Press Service (TPS).

Artifacts recently discovered at the excavation include…

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