A PRICELESS MOSAIC.

Taranaki Daily News, 5 November 1921, Page 10

A PRICELESS MOSAIC.

AN ART TROPHY OF THE WAR. During the heat and burden of the war few people took much interest in the announcement that the Australian forces operating in the Holy Land had unearthed a priceless mosaic. But for the resolute attitude of the officials of the Australian War Records Section, who would not entertain the emphatic desire ot the War Office to have it shipped to England and placed in the British Museum, there would undoubtedly have been lost to the Commonwealth its most remarkable war trophy, ami a nne specimen of ancient art. Strangely, until it was pieced together on the -rtoor of the exhibition building in Melbourne, and thrown open to public inspection during the past week, the public had nearly forgotten its existence, and the sensation, it caused was, therefore, almost equal to a new discovery.

It is known as the Shellal Mosaic. It was discovered on April 23, 1917, by an officer of the Australian Light Horse, and formed part of practically all that remained of a Byzantine basilica or church, situated on the summit of a hill at Shellal, between Beersheba and Khan Yunus, on the main road from Jerusalem to Egypt, and not far from Gaza, in Southern Palestine, where bitter fighting occurred. The hill had been occupied by the Turks, who dug a trencn round the summit for the purpose oi establishing a machine-gun post. The hidden mosaic was considerably damaged while the Turks occupied this position. Wfien the Australians took possession of the hill it was found that the mosaic was extensive, and officers and men, having removed the debris, cleared a mosaic floor measuring 27ft.by 18ft. Although the inscription contains 84HM> small pieces of mosaic, not one stone was lost. It is said that under the inscription in Greek at tne east end, near the altar, were discovered bones, which were presumed to be those of St. George, the founder of the church. Ihe bones were reverently placed fn

a casket and are now in consecrated ground. The story is told that when the bones were unearthed a telegram was despatched to the military authorities, giving the name of the saint.Promptly the reply came back: “No one of that name in our strength. Forward his identity disc!” The date of the erection of the basilica was 561 A.D. ;The Shellal Mosaic is. therefore, 1360 old