Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Lod Mosaic on display at the Met

THE LOD MOSAIC is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art:
Met Unveils Ancient Israeli Mosaic

By PIA CATTON (Wall Street Journal)

In 1996, workers in Lod, Israel, were preparing to expand a road when they found something that turned out to be an artistic and archeological treasure: a Roman mosaic from about 300 A.D. Preserved just three feet below the modern surface, it was in nearly excellent condition.

On view beginning Tuesday at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (through April 3), the mosaic—50 feet long by 27 feet wide—looks slightly larger than some Manhattan apartments. It is believed to have been used as an interior ground cover for an entrance hall at the home of a wealthy Roman, living in what would have been the eastern portion of the Roman Empire.

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Background here.