By Aryeh Savir
JERUSALEM — For the first time in history, thousands of tourists from all over the world are able to view an Israeli archeological exhibit on display at the most visited museum in the world. Private collections owned by Israelis have been on display in the Louvre in the past, but this is the first official Israeli exhibit.
The exhibit features the 1,700 year-old Lod Mosaic. In a remarkable state of preservation, this 180 sq. Meter Roman mosaic was discovered in Lod in 1996, during the construction of a highway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
It was part of a large pavement covering the floor of what was probably a reception room in a privately owned villa. Made up of marble and limestone tesserae and cubes of glass paste, it offers a richly detailed portrait of the animal world in all its diversity. Human activities are referred to by the presence of two boats sailing among the marine life in the mosaic’s lower part.
Presented side by side with the ‘Antioch Four Seasons Mosaic‘ and not far from the new exhibition areas devoted to the East Mediterranean in the Roman Empire, the Lod Mosaic is being specially put on show in Paris before its return to the Lod Mosaic Archaeological Center, currently being built on the site of the discovery.
The Louvre is the sixth museum to display the Lod Mosaic, following five successful showcases in the US, including a display at the Metropolitan in New York, where an estimated 700,000 visited the exhibit.
Shukah Dorfman, Head of Israel’s Antiquities Authority, said: “This is a great honor and achievement for the Antiquities Authority, and a great opportunity for the museum goers, to see this masterpiece form Lod and to learn about the history and archeology of Israel.”
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Preceding provided by Tazpit News Agency