One of the most beautiful treasures of Roman-era Holy Land — the seafaring-themed Lod mosaic — was restored to its home port.

Given a hero’s welcome in the form of a dedicated museum, the late 3rd century– early 4th century mosaic is now housed in the newly constructed Shelby White & Leon Levy Lod Mosaic Archaeological Center near Ben Gurion Airport.

The first section of the richly colorful mosaic was discovered accidentally during salvage excavations in 1996 under a central city square in Lod. Another section was uncovered under what appears to be a large Roman villa from the Byzantine era in 2015. Surprisingly, a third section was also discovered under the villa in 2018 during construction of the museum.

Among the colorful illustrations found on the mosaic are boats with oars, and animals including elephants, lions, birds, fish, and crustaceans. There is also plant life and flowers, vases and geometric patterns.

Source: TOI