Nostalgia Sunday – Lod Mosaic

October 18, 2009 - 6:16 PM by · 1 Comment
Filed under: Art, General, History and Culture, Nostalgia Sunday, Travel 

It may be more historic than nostalgic, but the big news in archeology last week here was that the Israel Antiquities Authority made an interesting discovery while detaching a magnificent floor mosaic for transfer to the IAA conservation laboratories in Jerusalem. They found ancient footprints! Apparently, while working on the plaster bedding (done before laying down the mosaic) the artisans trod on it in sandals and in bare feet.

Ancient footprint

The floor is a story in itself. According to the IAA: “The 1,700 year old mosaic, which is one of the largest and most magnificent ever seen in Israel, was exposed in the city of Lod in 1996 and was covered again when no resources could be found for its conservation. Thirteen years after efforts were made to raise the large amount required to treat the unique artifact, the IAA received a contribution from the Leon Levy Foundation that is specifically earmarked for the purpose of conserving and developing the site, in cooperation with the Municipality of Lod. The mosaic was re-excavated, exhibited to the public and is now being removed from the area for treatment in the IAA conservation laboratories.”

“The mosaic, which constitutes a real archaeological gem that is extraordinarily well-preserved, is c. 180 sq m in size. It is composed of colorful carpets that depict in great detail mammals, birds, fish, floral species, and sailing and merchant vessels that were in use at the time. It is believed the mosaic floor was part of a villa that belonged to a wealthy man in the Roman period.”

Hopefully, the floor’s restoration holds the key — along with other innovative social welfare efforts reported on by ISRAEL21c — to turning Lod around from the center of drug-related crime to the tourist haven it ought to be. The IAA stated that, “The municipality, in cooperation with the Israel Antiquities Authority, plans to integrate it into a tourism circuit that will include a number of historic sites in the city.” Given the magnificence of the artifact, there is every chance that the plan could work.

Lod mosaic floor

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Weeds

July 22, 2008 - 3:56 PM by · 1 Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, Business, Crime, General 

Well, the TV scenarios of Weeds and the fictional land of Agrestic have arrived in Beit Shemesh, Israel, as three men were recently busted for growing thousands of saplings of a marijuana-like plant in a warehouse under hydroponic conditions. The police also found 155 kilograms of drugs, as well as a watering system, heating machine and blowers used to keep the temperatures at greenhouse levels for better growing conditions.

beit shemesh hashish.jpg

The police reckoned that this may be their biggest bust, given that the laboratory-like conditions of the warehouse — which included specialized lighting and high quality plants — created plants that grew faster and better marijuana than regular ‘grass.’ And unlike previous busts, which were usually in private homes, this warehouse setup included sections for growing the seeds, another for the developing plants, a third for drying the plants and a fourth section for weighing and packing the dried drug. Wonder where they got the idea for that setup, huh, Nancy?

According to an inside source at the Beit Shemesh police, the drug found is extremely expensive, worth 10-40 times as much as hashish. But what’s particularly amusing is that this isn’t the first time that hashish has been found in the area. An archaeological dig in Beit Shemesh a few years back uncovered organic remains of a substance containing hashish on the abdominal area of a teenage female’s skeleton dating back to the fourth century.

According to the Israel Antiquities Authority, cannabis was probably used as a healing ointment, particularly for women in labor and after childbirth. Hey, not necessarily such a bad idea.

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