New archaeological discovery in Israel dubbed ‘greeting from Christian pilgrims’ 1,500 years ago

[Michie]

Pictured is the site of a Byzantine-period church in the northern Negev, an Israeli desert, where there is wall art depicting ships. According to archaeologists, it opens a window to the world of Christian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land 1,500 years ago. The Israel Antiquities Authority announced the discovery of the art May 23, 2024. (OSV News photo/courtesy Israel Antiquities Authority)

JERUSALEM (OSV News) — The discovery of a Byzantine-period church in the northern Negev, with wall art displaying ships, opens a window to the world of Christian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land 1,500 years ago, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority.

“The drawings provide first-hand evidence about the ships they traveled in and the maritime world of that time,” said IAA Director Eli Escusido, describing the finds in southern Israel’s large desert as “surprising and intriguing.”

Discovery of Byzantine Church in the Northern Negev​

The IAA has been carrying out a rescue excavation for several years at the archaeological site located in the Bedouin city of Rahat in preparation for a neighborhood expansion project.


Excavation directors called the find “a greeting from Christian pilgrims” who arrived by ship to Gaza port, telling the story of settlement in the Northern Negev at the end of the Byzantine period (from approximately A.D. 395 — when the Roman Empire was split — to 1453) and in the beginning of the early Islamic period.

Pilgrims’ marks and Christian symbols​

The archaeologists suggest Christian pilgrims visited the church after landing in the port, leaving their personal mark in the form of ship drawings on its walls. Though depictions of ships were used as a Christian symbol in ancient times, they said they believed that in this case the drawings of ships were a true graphical depiction of the real ships in which the pilgrims travel to the Holy Land.

An archaeologist points to wall art at the site of a Byzantine-period church in the northern Negev, an Israeli desert. According to archaeologists, it opens a window to the world of Christian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land 1,500 years ago. The Israel Antiquities Authority announced the discovery of the art May 23, 2024. (OSV News photo/courtesy Israel Antiquities Authority)

They noted that the site of the ancient church with the ship drawings is adjacent to an ancient Roman road known as the Via Maris that led from the Mediterranean coastal port of Gaza to Beer Sheva, the Negev’s main city and northward up to coastal cities such as Acre, Caesarea, Apollonia and Jaffa.

Details of the ship drawings​

Continued below.

New archaeological discovery in Israel dubbed 'greeting from Christian pilgrims' 1,500 years ago

"The drawings provide first-hand evidence about the ships they traveled in and the maritime world of that time," said IAA Director Eli Escusido, describing the finds in southern Israel's large desert as "surprising and intriguing."

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