Strata: Better Late Than Never

Fifty years after it was first discovered, a 53-by-48-foot mosaic that graces the floor of a late Byzantine-era villa at Caesarea is finally being restored. The magnificent mosaic features 120 medallions containing flamingos, peacocks, ducks and a border of other wild animals in hunting scenes and intricate geometrical designs. Because of the medallions the mosaic has become known as the “Bird Mosaic.”

The public will have full access to the mosaic and for the first time will even be able to walk along a restored mosaic floor, said Yosef Porath, Caesarea excavations director. “Originally what was the purpose of the floor? To be walked on,” he said, noting that the mosaic had been restored and reinforced where needed.

The mosaic was part of an open-air courtyard entrance to a luxurious mansion, which Porath dates to the late sixth or early seventh century A.D.

Parts of the mosaic were first unearthed in the 1950s by archaeologist Shmuel Yeivin, the first director of what is today the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), but were then re-covered. The Byzantine-era villa, which has been described by archaeologists as the most impressive ever to be discovered in Israel, and its mosaic are located on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean and cover about a quarter of an acre.