Church discovered in Israel is 1,500 years old

ISRAELI archaeologists presented a newly uncovered 1,500-year-old church in the Judean hills yesterday, including an unusually well- preserved mosaic floor with images of lions, foxes, fish and peacocks.

The Byzantine church south-west of Jerusalem, excavated over the last two months, will be visible for another week before archaeologists cover it again with soil to protect it — until funding is obtained to open it as a tourist site.

The small basilica with an exquisitely decorated floor was active between the fifth and seventh centuries AD, said the dig’s leader, Amir Ganor of the Israel Antiquities Authority.