GAZA STRIP (Reuters/Al Jazeera) – An ornate Byzantine floor mosaic showing a variety of colorful birds and other animals has been discovered by chance in Gaza after a Palestinian farmer tried to plant new trees on his land.
Salman al-Nabahin unearthed the relic 6 months ago while working in his olive orchard in Bureij refugee camp, about a kilometer from the Gaza fence.
Trying to figure out why some trees had not properly taken root, Nabahin said he and his son began digging. Then the son’s axe hit something hard and unfamiliar in appearance.
“I searched on the Internet ... We learnt it was mosaic belonging to the Byzantine era,” said the father-of-7, sitting next to his discovery. “I see it as a treasure, dearer than a treasure. It isn’t personal, it belongs to every Palestinian.”
The Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said the flooring included several mosaic panels depicting animals and other features of social life during the Byzantine era.
“The archaeological discovery is still in its early stages and we await to know more of the secrets and civilization values,” the ministry said in a statement. “National research teams are working in partnership with international experts and scientists from the French Archaeology School.”
In another finding, a team of archaeologists has made a “once-in-a-lifetime” discovery of a burial cave in the Israeli-occupied territories dating back to ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Rameses II.
The discovery was made on Tuesday when the group found pottery pieces and bronze artefacts dating back to the reign of the ancient Egyptian king, who died in 1213 BC.
The cave was uncovered on a beach when a mechanical digger working at the Palmahim national park hit its roof, with archaeologists using a ladder to descend into the spacious, man-made square cave.