Megiddo church

Megiddo prison from the top of Tel Megiddo

Megiddo church near Tel Megiddo, Israel is one of the oldest church buildings ever discovered by archaeologists, dating to the 3rd century AD.

In 2005, Israeli archaeologist Yotam Tepper of Tel-Aviv University discovered the remains of a church, believed to be from the third century, a time when Christians were still persecuted by the Roman Empire. The remains were found at the Megiddo Prison, which is located a few hundred meters south of the Tel. Among the finds is an approx. 54-square-metre (580 sq ft) large mosaic with a Greek inscription stating that the church is consecrated to "the God Jesus Christ." The mosaic is very well preserved and features geometrical figures and images of fish, an early Christian symbol. It is speculated that this may be the oldest remains of a church in the Holy Land.^[1] The remains were found within the grounds of a military prison, and Israeli authorities are currently speculating about moving the prison.

An inscription in the Megiddo church mentions a Roman officer, "Gaianus," who donated "his own money" to have a mosaic made. The anthropologist Joe Zias, former curator for the Israeli Antiquities Authority, said "My gut feeling is that we are looking at a Roman building that may have been converted to a church at a later date."^[2] On the other hand, persecution of Christians was sporadic in the Roman Empire during the early third century. The archaeological evidence may point to a later, date placing the church in the last quarter of the 3rd or first quarter of the 4th century.^{[citation needed]}

See also

Ancient Near East portal

• Legio
• Oldest churches in the world

References

1. ^ Greek inscription in 'oldest church'
2. ^ Israeli Prisoners Dig Their Way to Early Christianity