Jericho Unveils 10,000th Birthday Mosaic (Plus Other Cool Mosaics Around The World)
Travel News — By Carlo Alcos on October 19, 2010 at 10:00 amYeah, I guess 10,000 years is pretty old. Jericho’s 10,000th birthday though is actually more of a 10,000th-ish birthday party, as archaeologists say they could be off by up to a hundred years in determining the first settlement there. But that’s like celebrating my birthday within a few days of the actual date, and that’s happened plenty of times when it falls on a weekday. So I’ll cut them some slack.
As part of the celebration, a 1200 year-old mosaic covering nearly 900 square meters/9700 square feet, was unveiled, according to Haaretz.com. The mosaic was discovered during excavations in the 1930′s and 1940′s and is the floor of a main bath house of an Islamic palace that was destroyed by an earthquake in the eighth century. The uncovering of part of the mosaic is temporary until they can build a permanent roof– it’s remained under canvas to protect it from the elements. The mosaic is one of the largest in the Middle East.
Other cool mosaics from around the world:
- Ravenna, Italy – I was here in 2006. The mosaics in many of the UNESCO-listed 5th-6th century churches and monuments are absolutely stunning.
- Barcelona, Spain – Anotoni Gaudi’s famous mosaics in Parc Güell are something to behold.
- Madaba, Jordan – In the Church of St. George is a mosaic discovered in 1896. It’s a map of the Holy Land, with the central focus on Jersualem. Madaba is one of the oldest still-existing towns mentioned in the bible.
[Image of Ravenna mosaic by author]
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