(Israel news photo Niki Davidov/IAA) While we have had a bit of Roman fun here at MAN recently, THIS is no joke. It is the continuation of a wonderful story we've been covering since July.
What you see above is the footprint of one of the artisans who, 1,700 years ago, created those gorgeous Roman mosaics uncovered at Lod, Israel. First discovered in 1996 the mosaics are now being restored by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).
(Israel news photo Niki Davidov/IAA)
(AP Photos/Sebastian Scheiner)
(AP Photos/Sebastian Scheiner)
The mosaics are now being meticulously lifted from their original substrate at Lod and moved to Jeruselem by IAA conservators for restoration. Speaking with Ynetnews, Jacques Neguer, head of the IAA conservation branch, explained the recent discovery:
"Beneath a piece on which vine leaves are depicted, we discovered that the mosaic’s builders incised lines that indicate where the tesserae should be set, and afterwards, while cleaning the layer, we found the imprints of feet and sandals: sizes 34, 37, 42 and 44. At least one imprint of a sole resembles a modern sandal. Based on the concentration of foot and sandal prints it seems that the group of builders tamped the mortar in place with their feet”.
(Israel news photo Niki Davidov/IAA)“The excitement here was great. It is fascinating to discover a 1,700 year old personal mark of people who are actually like us, who worked right here on the same mosaic. We feel the continuity of generations here”."The continuity of generations" is one of the reasons why we here at MAN are so passionate about mosaics. We envy Mr. Neguer and his team.
To read the whole Ynetnews story -- and it is absolutely worth your three minutes -- click here:
Previous MAN posts on Lod include:
- A great video with one of the leading experts on the mosaics -- our July 5th post here:
- Photos of the mosaics being cleaned -- our July 2 post here
- The original post on the Lod project with more great photos -- June 14 here
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