MEGIDDO, Israel (ABP) — The ruins of an ancient Christian church, found within the walls of an Israeli prison, may prove to be one of the earliest churches ever discovered and could change the historical understanding of the Christian church in the region.
Two elaborate mosaics loaded with Christian symbols — presumably the floor of a relatively large sanctuary — were unearthed recently by prisoners working on an expansion project for the Megiddo prison, near the site of the end-of-the-world battle of Armageddon described in the book of Revelation.
Some archaeologists say the evidence dates the mosaics to the late third century or early fourth century, when Christianity was outlawed by the occupying Romans and most Christian worship was held secretly in homes.
If the church was operating in the third century, it “would be very surprising, since Christianity was persecuted sporadically until the conversion of [Roman Emporer] Constantine around [A.D.] 312,” said Richard Vinson, professor of New Testament at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond.
“If it proves to be as early as some of the early news reports suggest, it would be much earlier than most scholars of early Christianity would expect such a thing,” Vinson said.
Two prominent fish symbols at the center of one mosaic, pottery shards found on top of the floor, and the style of Greek used in the mosaics' inscriptions all suggest the floor was made in the late third century. Soon thereafter, the symbol of the cross replaced the fish as the dominant worship symbol, archaeologists say.
One of the Megiddo inscriptions credits a woman named Aketous for paying for a table used in worship. Archaeologists say such tables were replaced by altars in churches of the fourth century and later.
But another inscription — a tribute to a Roman military officer, Gaianus, a Christian who helped pay for the mosaic — is troubling to some historians and archeologists, since Rome was persecuting Christians at the time. “If I were a Roman soldier in the third century, I certainly wouldn't want my name on it,” Joe Zias, former head of the Israeli Antiquities Authority, which controls such finds, told the New York Tmies. “This would not have been a good career move. In fact, it sounds like the kiss of death.”
“My gut feeling is we may be looking at a Roman building that may have been converted to a church at a later date,” Zias said.
The earliest existing churches are considered the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, both from after A.D. 330, decades after Constantine's decree legalizing Christianity. But little of the original buildings exists in either case. The 30-foot-by-15-foot floor of the Megiddo church would be a major find.
But even a date in the late 4th century would be significant, scholars say. “Even though by that time Christianity was favored in the [Roman] Empire, this would be one of the earliest — if not the earliest — building discovered,” said Vinson.
It's not yet known if the Megiddo site will be preserved intact and opened to visitors or if the mosaics will be removed to a museum. Ultimately, the Israeli Antiquities Authority will decide. Meanwhile, the prison is looking for someplace else to build its addition.