When CSI and Archaeology Come Together

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While removing the mosaic from the ground, Israel Antiquities Authority conservators were surprised to discover 1,700 year old foot and sandal prints beneath it





Head of the Israel Antiquities Authority Art Conservation Branch, “It’s exciting. This is the first time I have ever encountered personal evidence such as this under a mosaic”.

...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...The mosaic was [then] re-excavated, exhibited to the public and is now being removed from the area for treatment in the IAA conservation laboratories.

Recently the conservators were surprised to discover that the builders of the beautiful mosaic left their personal mark there: while working on the plaster bedding which is done before attaching the mosaic, the artisans trod on it wearing sandals and in their bare feet.

According to Jacques Neguer, head of the IAA Art Conservation Branch, “When removing a section of mosaic it is customary to clean its bedding, and that way study the material from which it is made and the construction stages. We look for drawings and sketches that the artists made in the plaster and marked where each of the tesserae will be placed. This is also what happened with the Lod mosaic: 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”.

...Neguer states that, “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”.