Summary: The earliest-known evidence of a Georgian calendar has been discovered on the mosaic floor of a 1,500-year-old church excavated in Israel.
So, being sent on their way by the church, they [Paul and Barnabas] passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers. – Acts 15:3 (ESV)
Georgian Mosaic
The large and colorful mosaic floor of a 1,500-year-old Christian church has been unearthed in Ashdod-Yam; an ancient city mentioned in the Bible and located on Israel’s Mediterranean coastline. The mosaic dates back to the Byzantine period and is the earliest-known evidence of a Georgian calendar in the world, reported The Times of Israel. The Byzantine period was the time after AD 330 when the Eastern Roman Empire diverged from the west with its capital in Rome. At the same time, due to its rapid spread, Christianity came to be first tolerated and then the official religion of the empire.
A Greek inscription within the mosaic mentions the ancient Georgian calendar date of 292, which corresponds to AD 539 in the Gregorian dating system we use today. (It is easy to mix the two names, just cross out an “r” and move the “o.” The Gregorian system was introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII, to correct slight measurement errors of the Julian calendar by placing leap years differently to make the average calendar year align more closely to the solar year).
The country of Georgia is located to the east of the Black Sea, south of Russia and north of Turkey and Armenia. Interestingly, according to the excavation’s archaeologists, modern Ashdod is currently home to the largest community of Jews of Georgian origin.
“Testimony to the presence of the actual Georgians in the Land of Israel as far back as the Byzantine period has been found dozens of kilometers from Ashdod – in Jerusalem and its surroundings,” explained the archaeologists. “But this is the first time that a Georgian church or monastery has been discovered on the Israeli coast.”
The beautiful church mosaic was unearthed during a third season of excavations, under the direction of Tel Aviv University Dr. Alexander Fantalkin, along with Berlejung of Leipzig University Prof. Angelika, University of Göttinge Dr. Balbina Bäbler and Ashkelon district archaeologist Sa’ar Ganor from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).
Inclusion in the Madaba Map
By the Byzantine period, Ashdod-Yam had become one of Israel’s more important coastal cities. Evidence for this is seen by the city’s inclusion in the famous Madaba Map, the oldest surviving map of the Holy Land. There the city is labeled by its Greek name “Azotus Paralios.”
The Madaba Map is part of the floor mosaic in the church of Saint George in Madaba, Jordan. Ashdod-Yam (Azotus Paralios) can be seen written in Greek in the bottom right of the photo below, on a peninsula section of preserved tiles.
The Commemorative Inscription
There is a four-line Greek commemorative inscription on the lower part of the newly found Georgian mosaic, dedicated to the church builders. The inscription mentions Bishop Procopius, in whose day the church was built, and the year of its construction, using the Georgian calendar.
[By the grace of God (or Christ)], this work was done from the foundation under Procopius, our most saintly and most holy bishop, in the month Dios of the 3rd indiction, year 292.
Dr. Leah Di Segni from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem deciphered the inscription, translating the Georgian calendar date 292 to AD 539. “This is the earliest appearance of the use of the Georgiancalendar in the Land of Israel, many years before it was used in Georgia itself,” said Di Segni in a statement.
More to Discover
The team believes there is much more to be found at the Ashdod church where the mosaic was discovered. “This public structure, which has only now begun to come to light, is part of an extensive archaeological complex in the southern part of modern Ashdod,” said the researchers. “We are now hard at work to raise additional funds to continue the archaeological excavation of Ashdod-Yam.”
The Ashdod mosaic supports historical sources that say the Georgian philosopher Peter the Iberian lived in Ashdod-Yam prior to his death. Peter, who was the bishop of Majuma near Gaza, is credited with founding the first Georgian monastery in Bethlehem, according to the Bir el Qutt inscriptions. These Georgian script documents were uncovered in 1953 at St. Theodore Georgian monastery, located between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. The one mentioning Peter is dated to AD 532.
Before now, there was no solid evidence for the tradition connecting Peter the Iberian to Ashdod. “And now it seems that we have uncovered actual evidence of his influence on the Byzantine city of Ashdod-Yam,” said the archaeologists.
The City of Ashdod Frequently Mentioned in the Bible
The ancient port city of Ashdod-Yam has roots stretching from the Late Bronze Age onwards. There are many citations in the Hebrew Bible that mention Ashdod, beginning with the conquest of Canaan in the book of Joshua chapter 11.
In 1 Samuel 5, there is the fascinating account of the Philistines stealing the ark of the covenant and bringing it to Ashdod, where it was placed inside the house of their god Dagon. The next day the statue of Dagon was found lying on the floor in front of the ark.
When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon. And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him.
The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.” – 1 Samuel 5:1-4, 6-7
Ashdod is also noted, under its Greek name Azotus, in 1 Maccabees 5:68, “But Judas turned aside to Azotus in the land of the Philistines. Judas tore down their altars, and he burned the carved images of their gods with fire.”
In the New Testament, the city is mentioned concerning a strange account involving the Apostle Philip. After baptizing the Ethiopian eunuch, Philip is miraculously transported to Ashdod (Azotus) where he continues telling people about Jesus.
And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea. – Acts 8:40
Conclusion
The Ashdod-Yam mosaic floor is just one of many recent, exciting archaeological finds that tie the Bible into modern times. These discoveries can add confidence to a Christian’s beliefs. The biblical accounts are reliable records of real people and places in history. We should take note and Keep Thinking!
