Roman empire-era mosaic unveils in Israel

The well preserved 1700-year-old Roman Empire-era mosaic was unveiled by a group of Israeli archaeologists on Wednesday in the city of Lod, near Tel Aviv. The 600-square-foot floor mosaic was made up of over two million small stones, working together out a splendid huge picture of hunting scenes. Lions and giraffes from Africa and the style similar to those found in Tunisia and other places in North Africa suggest the artist, or owner might not be from Israel.


It is the second time for the mosaic's display since it was discovered in 1996, when it draw 10,000 visitor in the first weekend . But since it lacked funding for protection, the mosaic was covered up. However, the recent US$ 2.5 million jointly from the New York-based Leon Levy Foundation and antiquities collector Shelby White allows archaeologists to build a center to house the mosaic.

Jacque Neguer from Israel's Antique Authority said the center is to open in 2012, and she also said after a thorough cleaning, the entire piece will be moved to Jerusalem for a further preservation process.