Early Byzantine Mosaics in The Middle East - Petra and The Desert

Petra and The Desert

Mosaic art also flourished in Christian Petra where three Byzantine churches were discovered. The most important one was uncovered in 1990. It is known that the walls were also covered with golden glass mosaics but only the floor panels survived as usual. The mosaic of the seasons in the southern aisle is from this first building period from the middle of the 5th century. In the first half of the 6th century the mosaics of the northern aisle and the eastern end of the southern aisle were installed. They depict native as well as exotic or mythological animals, and personifications of the Seasons, Ocean, Earth and Wisdom.

Mosaic covered churches prove that the towns along the Nabatean spice road in the Negev Desert flourished in the Christian era. In Mamshit two great churches survived. The Eastern Church (or Church of the Martyrs) was probably built in the late 4th century and has a geometric floor with crosses. The mosaics of the Western (or Nile) Church are more elaborate depicting birds, fruit basket, swastikas and flowers. An inscription in a medallion reads: "God, save your servant Nilus, lover of Jesus, who founded this building. Preserve him and his household."

Several mosaics were discovered around Gaza which was an important centre of Christianity during the Byzantine era. The most publicized of these discoveries were made in 1917 by Australian troops fighting against the Ottomans at Shellal. The church stood upon a small hill above Wadi Guzze and has an elaborate floor decorated exotic animals in medallions and two beautiful peacocks. It was dated to 561-562 and it is regarded an extraordinary piece of Justinian era mosaic art. A lesser known mosaic of a church was also uncovered during military operations in the summer of 1917 at Umm Jerar, south of Gaza. Two floors have many similarities in design.

In the Barnea district of the port of Ashkelon two large Byzantine churches were unearthed. In the first only the remains of glass tesserae prove that its walls were decorated with mosaics while in the other one an almost intact geometric floor survived with three inscriptions dating to years 493 and 498.