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The ruins of a richly decorated church were unearthed during salvage excavations in the city of Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem, in Israel. [Read the full story on the Israel monastery]
Ancient marble
(Image credit: Israel Antiquities Authority)
Archaeologists and high-school students participating in the dig uncovered architectural elements at the site, including this marble pillar base decorated with crosses.
Valuable decor
(Image credit: Israel Antiquities Authority)
The elaborate mosaic floor and the marble imported from Turkey indicate that the Byzantine church was wealthy when it was in use 1,500 years ago.
The mosaic floor includes images of birds and pomegranates, as well as leaf patterns.
Abandoned?
(Image credit: Israel Antiquities Authority)
Archaeologists are trying to understand why the church seems to have been cleared out and abandoned in the seventh century.
Good preservation
(Image credit: Israel Antiquities Authority)
The researchers working on the excavation say the ruins make up one of the best-preserved examples of a Byzantine church and monastery complex in the region. [Read the full story on the Israel monastery]
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Megan has been writing for Live Science and Space.com since 2012. Her interests range from archaeology to space exploration, and she has a bachelor's degree in English and art history from New York University. Megan spent two years as a reporter on the national desk at NewsCore. She has watched dinosaur auctions, witnessed rocket launches, licked ancient pottery sherds in Cyprus and flown in zero gravity. Follow her on Twitter and Google+.
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