BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

The Megiddo Mosaic

© MUSEUM OF THE BIBLE, 2024

Through July 6, 2025
Museum of the Bible
Washington, D.C.
museumofthebible.org

An extraordinary mosaic from the area of ancient Megiddo in northern Israel is now on display at the Museum of the Bible. Featuring the earliest known inscription to identify Jesus as God, the mosaic adds much to our understanding of early Christian communities in the Holy Land.

The mosaic was discovered during salvage excavation of Kfar Othnay, a Roman- and Byzantine-era settlement identified within the grounds of the modern Megiddo Prison. Measuring about 16 by 32 feet, this extensive mosaic covered the floor of a Christian worship hall. Astonishingly, this hall formed a wing of a large residential building used by Roman soldiers, namely the Sixth Ironclad Legion stationed at the nearby military camp of Legio. Dating from around 230 CE, the hall is the earliest monument in Israel dedicated to Christian worship.^a Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) archaeologists explored the rural settlement of Kfar Othnay between 2003 and 2005.

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Presented in partnership with the IAA, The Megiddo Mosaic: Foundations of Faith highlights three Greek inscriptions that appear in the mosaic alongside many decorative and figural motifs. These inscriptions acknowledge seven people for their beneficial roles in the local church. Significantly, five were women, confirming their importance in this early Christian community. One inscription recognizes a woman named Akeptous and contains the abbreviated words “God Jesus Christ”—an early affirmation of Jesus’s divinity, officially decreed by church authorities a century later.

Specialists cleaned and conserved the mosaic before it was lifted and transported to Washington. Preparations are also underway for a dedicated exhibit space at the original site near Megiddo.

Notes

a. See Vassilios Tzaferis, “Inscribed ‘To God Jesus Christ’” BAR, March/April 2007.

Related reading in Bible History Daily

Roman Training Ground Found at Megiddo

Legio

Uncovering a Roman Army Base at Legio 

Early Bronze Age: Megiddo’s Great Temple and the Birth of Urban Culture in the Levant

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Why Megiddo?

The Battleground

Inscribed “To God Jesus Christ”