Month: October 2015

Medusa Head Discovered in Turkey

~ matthewjordanstorm ~ Leave a comment

On a hilltop in Turkey’s Antalya province, overlooking the Mediterranean, in what was once the Roman city of Antiochia ad Cragum, a team of archaeologists from the University of Nebraska discovered a remarkable Roman-era Medusa head (see above) below Mount Cragus.

Somehow this pagan symbol survived the Christian-era purges that destroyed so many pagan artifacts.

There is no knowing (yet) as to the date Medusa was carved, but the dig team speculates that she survived the purges because she was part of a building’s facade.

Read here for more.

 

 

Justinian Era Mosaics found in Israel

~ matthewjordanstorm ~ Leave a comment

The Israel Antiquities Authority just released pictures of marvelous mosaics found in an industrial park in Qiryat Gat, Israel – they once graced the floor of a church likely built in Justinian’s lifetime, featuring christian and more traditional (pagan) images.  Curiously, the mosaics also depicted a map of an Egyptian city – Chortaso – which might have been the original home of this congregation though the true meaning of the map is a mystery.

Why would a church in Judaea have a map of a town in Egypt gracing its floor?

See here for more:

http://www.livescience.com/52335-photos-ancient-church-mosaic.html