Remains of a 1300 year old church discovered in Israel

The remains of a 1,300 year old Christian Church were uncovered in Kfar Kama, in Northern Israel.  It features mosaic floors and three apses.  The Israel Antiquities Authority was in charge of the excavation and they worked with Kinnert Academic College.

The church measured some 12 by 36 metres, a large courtyard, a narthex foyer, and a central hall.

The nave and aisles were paved with elaborate mosaics parts of which survived remarkably in tact. Even a small reliquary, a stone box used to preserve sacred relics, was found.  Additional rooms were also found giving rise to the potential of this being a community, perhaps a monastery.

Nearly sixty years before, a smaller church with two chapels was excavated inside the village of Kfar Kama, dating to the first half of the sixth century AD.  This is thought to be the parish church for the village.

This attests to the importance of the Christian village settled in the Byzantine period, close to Mount Tabor where it is believed that the Transfiguration took place.  This is of primary significance for Christianity.  The photos are from the Israel Antiquities Authority.

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