The earliest inscription declaring Jesus as God was discovered beneath the floor of an Israeli prison and is now on display in America. The finding was hailed as “the greatest discovery since the Dead Sea Scrolls”, which took place between 1947 and 1956.
Found by an inmate of the Megiddo prison, the 581-square-foot mosaic has ancient Greek writing on it, which reads: “The go-loving Akeptous has offered the table to God Jesus Christ as a memorial”, confirming that Christians believed Jesus was the son of God from the very beginning.
It was part of the world’s first prayer hall in 230 AD and features multiple inscriptions and drawings which provide an important understanding of the start of the Christian church.
The 1,800-year-old mosaic also features some of the earliest images of fish; experts have suggested that the drawings could be a reference to the story of Jesus multiplying two fish to feed a crowd of 5,000 people, found in Luke 9:16 of the Bible.
It was first discovered in 2005, but it is now in America, and it has been agreed to be lent to a museum in Washington DC, until July 2025.
CEO of the museum, Carlos Campo said: “We are truly among the first people to ever see this, to experience what almost 2,000 years ago was put together by a named Brutius, the incredible craftsman who laid the flooring here.”
His colleagues added that it was “the most important archaeological discovery for understanding the early Christian church”.
It took four years for archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) to retrieve the ancient floor and the name of the Roman officer who commissioned the mosaic during the Roman occupation of Judea was also discovered on it.
The inscription reads: “Gaianus, a Roman officer, having sought honour, from his own money, has made the mosaic.”, as well as the discovery of a nearby Roman camp has led researchers to believe that Romans did coexist with Christians and there was peace between the two groups.
Apart from the mentioning of Akeptous, the mosaic names an additional four women – it reads “to remember Primilla and Cyriaca and Dorothea, and last, Chreste” showcasing the significant role women played in the church as according to the IAA “God wasn’t typically asked to remember individuals.”
The IAA had cleaned and separated the floor into 11 crates before transporting it over to America for The Megiddo Mosaic: Foundations of Faith exhibition. Once the exhibition is over, it will return to Israel to be displayed at the site where it was discovered.
