Byzantine-era church excavated

DISCOVERY: Near Jerusalem, 1500-year-old Byzantine-era road station and church uncovered. Archaeologists say structures were built in the Byzantine period beside the ancient road leading between Jerusalem and the coastal plain (DANIEL K. EISENBUD, Jerusalem Post).

Archaeological excavations near Highway 1 – at the entrance to Abu Gosh, west of Jerusalem – uncovered a large Byzantine-era road station that included a church, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Wednesday.

The excavations were conducted while upgrading and widening the highway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in a project initiated and funded by the National Roads Company, said IAA spokeswoman Yoli Shwartz.

The road station and church were found adjacent to a seep spring known as Ein Naqa'a, located on the outskirts of Moshav Bet Neqofa, said Shwartz.

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