Pod Save America Hosts Call on Democrats to Cut All Israel Military Aid, No Longer Accept AIPAC Funding
Jews, Israelis Targeted in Austria Amid Surge in Antisemitic Incidents; Local Jewish Community Calls for Action
‘All of Our Strength’: Over 1,000 Pro-Israel Activists Gather in DC for Solidarity Conference
‘Devastated’: Wesley LePatner, Killed in Manhattan Mass Shooting, Was a Jewish Communal, Philanthropic Leader
Sen. Angus King Vows to No Longer Vote for Israel Military Aid Until Gaza Conditions Improve
Europe Won’t Pressure Israel to ‘Commit Suicide’ Amid Gaza Backlash, Palestinian State Push, Says Israeli FM
Israel’s National Soccer Coach Attacked in Athens Before Soccer Fans Chant ‘F–K Israel, Free Palestine’ at Match
New York Judge Sentences Neo-Nazi to 5 Years for Livestreaming Bomb Threats Against Jewish Hospitals
US Pressures Lebanon to Issue Cabinet Decision to Disarm Hezbollah Before Talks Continue
UK Plans to Recognize Palestinian State in September Unless Israel Meets Conditions, Starmer Says
1,500-Year-Old Church and Monastery Unearthed in Israel
Error: Contact form not found.
by JNS.org
Israeli students participate in excavations that uncovered a 1,500-year-old church and monastery near Beit Shemesh. Photo: Assaf Peretz / Israel Antiquities Authority.
JNS.org – The ruins of a 1,500-year-old church and monastery have been unearthed near the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh in an excavation led by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).
More than 1,000 Israeli students assisted the effort, which uncovered Byzantine-era buildings with full mosaic floors and marble items.
Several walls discovered in the excavation were made of expensive smooth stones imported from Turkey.
“We were surprised by how well the findings were preserved, as well as by the wealth and beauty we discovered,” said Benyamin Storchan, director of the excavation for the IAA.
“This wealth may prove that the large building, which served as a monastery, was an important center, and it could be that it was one of the main pilgrimage centers in the Judean plain,” he said.
According to the IAA, the monastery was abandoned in the 7th century A.D. and only a small portion of the entire compound has been unearthed.
The archaeological dig was initiated ahead of the construction of a new residential neighborhood in Ramat Beit Shemesh.
