LOD, ISRAEL—Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority discovered a second high-quality mosaic floor in the southern part of a 1,700-year-old villa while preparing to build a visitor center at the site. The first mosaic, which served as the villa’s living room floor, is now touring museums around the world. The second mosaic was located in the villa’s courtyard, which was covered and surrounded by porticos, and depicts hunting and hunted animals, fish, flowers in baskets, vases, and birds. “The villa we found was part of a neighborhood of affluent houses that stood here during the Roman and Byzantine periods. At that time Lod was called Diospolis and was the district capital, until it was replaced by Ramla after the Muslim conquest. The building was used for a very long time,” excavation director Amir Gorzalczany said in a press release. “The eastern part of the complex could not be completely exposed because it extends beneath modern buildings in the neighborhood,” he added. To read in-depth about mosaics of this period, go to "Zeugma After the Flood."
