{"id":4105,"date":"2022-08-23T10:10:49","date_gmt":"2022-08-23T14:10:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=4105"},"modified":"2022-08-23T10:10:49","modified_gmt":"2022-08-23T14:10:49","slug":"archaeologists-find-ancient-mosaic-with-inscription-to-peter-that-may-reveal-his-homes-location","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2022\/08\/archaeologists-find-ancient-mosaic-with-inscription-to-peter-that-may-reveal-his-homes-location.html","title":{"rendered":"Archaeologists Find Ancient Mosaic With Inscription to Peter That May Reveal His Home’s Location"},"content":{"rendered":"

Archaeologists say they have discovered an inscription that may further indicate the location of the biblical town identified as the home of the Apostles Peter and Andrew.<\/p>\n

Archaeologists\u00a0announced last week<\/a>\u00a0that, while digging various holes and channels in a series of excavations, they uncovered an ancient mosaic with a large Greek inscription regarding the Peter and Andrew of the New Testament. Some say the mosaic may confirm the theory that the structure, commonly called the “Church of the Apostles<\/a>,” was once built over a living space that belonged to the apostles.<\/p>\n

The archaeologists who made the discovery are from Kinneret College in Israel and New York’s Nyack College, led by professors Mordechai Aviam and Steven Notley. The inscription was translated by Professor Leah Di Segni of Hebrew University and Professor Yaakov Ashkenazi of Kinneret College.<\/p>\n

The inscription refers to a donor, “Constantine, the servant of Christ,” and mentions a petition for mediation by St. Peter, “chief and commander of the heavenly apostles.”\u00a0“The title’ chief and commander of the apostles’ is routinely used by Byzantine Christian writers to refer to the Apostle Peter,” said Notley in a statement.<\/p>\n

Notley continued, “This discovery is our strongest indicator that Peter had a special association with the basilica, and it was likely dedicated to him. Since Byzantine Christian tradition routinely identified Peter’s home in Bethsaida, and not in Capernaum, as is often thought today, it seems likely that the basilica commemorates his house.”<\/p>\n

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Fox News\/Screenshot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The inscription is framed with a circular medallion and composed of two lines of black tesserae. It forms part of a larger mosaic floor in the church’s sacristy, partially adorned by floral designs. The discovery is a result of the\u00a0El Araj Excavation Project<\/a>, a joint initiative of the Kinneret Institute for Galilee Archeology at Kinneret College and Nyack College.<\/p>\n

The excavation is sponsored by the\u00a0Center for the Study of Ancient Judaism and Christian Origins<\/a>\u00a0(CSAJCO), the\u00a0Museum of the Bible<\/a>, the\u00a0Lanier Theological Library Foundation<\/a>, and the Hong Kong-based\u00a0HaDavar Yeshiva<\/a>.\u00a0In a statement, Professor Aviam said, “One of the goals of this dig was to check whether we have at the site a layer from the 1st century, which will allow us to suggest a better candidate for the identification of Biblical Bethsaida.”<\/p>\n

He continued, “Not only did we find significant remains from this period, but we also found this important church and the monastery around it.” The Roman remains that have also been excavated from the basilica may prove the testimony of Flavius Josephus. He believed the village was turned into a town called Julias, thought to have existed until around the third century A.D.<\/p>\n

As archeologists review the findings, they believe this further links el Araj\/Beit haBek to the ancient Jewish village of Bethsaida.\u00a0The basilica church will be cleaned, and excavations will continue at the start of October. In 2017, researchers with Kinneret College said they believed they had found the remains of Julias. Bethsaida is identified in\u00a0John 1:44<\/a>\u00a0as the hometown of Philip, Andrew, and Peter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Archaeologists say they have discovered an inscription that may further indicate the location of the biblical town identified as the home of the Apostles Peter and Andrew. Archaeologists\u00a0announced last week\u00a0that, while digging various holes and channels in a series of excavations, they uncovered an ancient mosaic with a large Greek inscription regarding the Peter and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":657,"featured_media":4108,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1492,92,411,1489],"class_list":["post-4105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible","tag-andrew","tag-archaeological-finds","tag-archaeologists","tag-peter"],"yoast_head":"\nArchaeologists Find Ancient Mosaic With Inscription to Peter That May Reveal His Home's Location<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Archaeologists say they have discovered an inscription that may indicate the location of the town identified as the home of Peter and Andrew.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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