Antiquities Robbery Prevention headed by Amir Ganor reportedly uncovered a 1,500-year-old church in Hirbet Madras in Israel. The 1,500-year-old church was said to be discovered several months in a pursuit to capture gang of grave robbers who had been plundering the ruins.
According to reports, archaeologists began digging at the site in December. The ancient church was said to be about the size of a basketball court and contained fallen marble pillars and a nearly pristine 10-meter-long unusually well-preserved mosaic floor with images of lions, foxes, fish and peacocks.
Ganor said that the floor was “one of the most beautiful mosaics to be uncovered in Israel in recent years.”
Furthermore, they also found a burial chamber that the Antiquities authority said that might have been venerated as the burial place of the Old Testament prophet Zecharia (Zechariah). However, the claim has not been proven and is still being studied, according to reports.
Meanwhile, international news websites reported that the 1,500-year-old church will be covered again with soil for its own protection. It will remain covered until funding is obtained to open it as a tourist site.
http://www.batangastoday.com/1500-year-old-church-discovered-in-hirbet-madras-in-israel-by-antiquities-robbery-prevention-headed-by-amir-ganor/9553/
Very interesting and amazing. The muslims have always claimed that they were the originators of mosaic tiling.