June 4, 2009 in Israel, opened the first and to date only one of its kind
museum mosaic. Museum of the good Samaritan is one of the largest in the world, it offers visitors a chance to admire the collection of mosaics discovered in the ruins of ancient synagogues and churches in the territories of Judea, Samaria and Gaza.
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The museum is located near the highway linking Jerusalem to Jericho, a place which is the ancient biblical name of Ma'ale Adumim (Ma'ale Adumim) and is located on the borders of the tribes of Benjamin and Judah, who inhabited these lands in the biblical era (The Book of Joshua, 15:7, 18:17). In the Byzantine period in this place was an inn, which is mentioned in the "Parable of the Good Samaritan" (Luke: 10:25-37). It tells of the representatives of three different religions: Jesus, the founder of Christianity, Jews and Samaritan, who commits an act of mercy. Therefore, in the museum are mosaics and artifacts found in Jewish synagogues and Samaria, and in Christian churches.
Exposition is located in the open air, some - in the room. In addition, the collection features artifacts from some other places.
The museum is located in Samaria, in the very spot where, according to legend, there was a meeting with the Gospel "Good Samaritan". In the Byzantine era there was erected a church, but also in earlier epochs, from ancient times, in this place lived and prayed for the people - and there are ruins of synagogues, and the caves of prehistoric man, and artifacts of the era of the Second Temple. The abundance found here remains of ancient settlements stresses the importance of this place for Christians in all times.
Location for the museum was prepared and restored with the assistance of the Office of Archeology and Antiquity of the Civil Administration and the Department of Antiquities of Israel. The total investment allocated for this purpose by the Ministry of Tourism of Israel amounted to 10 million shekels. The Inn "Good Samaritan" is very conveniently located on the popular routes of pilgrims and tourists traveling from Jerusalem to the holy places of Galilee. Other local attractions of particular interest to tourists-Christians - a place of baptism Qasr el Yehuda on the Jordan River, the restoration project which is at the final stage, and historical and archaeological reserve Qumran.
Thirteen years ago in the Israeli city of Lod, was found the biggest and perfectly preserved mosaics in the country. Due to the lack of funds for the restoration, finding it was decided to re-bury in the ground to keep it.
After years of this event, the Israeli Ministry of Antiquities, with the assistance of the City Administration Lod and local residents launched the excavation to reopen a remarkable monument of antiquity to the public - now forever.
First floor, covered with mosaics, the largest and among all these colorful works of art that has ever been found in Israel, was discovered during construction work in the city of Lod in 1996. Mosaic whose age is 1 700 years, is a real archaeological gem - it is amazingly well preserved and, moreover, occupies an area of about 180 square. m. It consists of several panels of mosaic pictures, which depicted in detail the various animals, birds, fish, plants, sailboats and commercial ships of the time. Why use the building, whose floor was paved with a mosaic of this is unknown.
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