Decoration items

Displaying 1 - 5 of 5

Item number	Mosaic floor	Materials, palette	Density	Composition	Geometric patterns	Iconographical motives	Comments	Discussion
1	Mosaic floor	A third dimensional effect achieved by shading, high technical exacution. Red, white, black, yellow, brown, white and blue tessarae.	160 per sq dm tesserae.	The reconstructed composition features an outer border (F28) of overlapping squares in white, red and black followed by a black line and a facing inwards red wave crest (B7). The west side has two wider spaced rows of indented squares (type E). The main design of the border (68 cm wide) consists of squares (30x30 cm) containing beribboned birds on a white background, spaced within squares of double meanders which form a swastika. The double meanders are composed of two intersecting bands, one in red-brown and the other gray-blue, the bands continue, framing the squares. The birds, identified as hunting falcons (Tsafrir,Y, Drori, R, Hirschfeld, Y. 1979) each with a ribbon around its neck, are all alike in shape and color. They are rendered in light shades within a dark counter line. The central design of the pavement (3.85 m. x 6.50.m) consists of elongated hexagons with two concave ends. The hexagons, 30 in all, are arranged in pairs of five rows containing three hexagons each. These interlock to create various geometrical shapes (H5). The result appears illusionistic and elaborate due to the shading of intermediate colors.	Avi-Yonah F28, Avi-Yonah, Avi-Yonah B7, Avi-Yonah E, Avi-Yonah H5	lion, bird, falcon, ribbon	Only the northwest corner has been completely preserved. The ribbon around the birds neck is perhaps decorative in nature and not indicative if its type as a hunting falcon. The nave mosaic is on display at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem.	The Synagogue at Na'aran mosaic is closest in size and contents.
2	Mosaic floor	White, grey and red for the main pattern of squares, red, orange. White and grey for the guilloche and black and grey for the band of flower buds.	90-100 per dm.	The aisles mosaic (11.4 x 2.5 m) consists of a colorful pattern of indented squares on a plain white background with a border of guilloche in various colors, framed by a band of flower buds with a narrow white margin.	Avi-Yonah A1, Avi-Yonah B3, Avi-Yonah F		Only a fraction of the mosaic is intact but it is sufficient to deduce the mosaic was identical all over the aisle (Madden p.31).
3	Mosaic floor	Red and black	36 per dm.	The Narthex mosaic consists of symmetrical rows of red and black florets (F) on a white field with a A1 border. The white narrow margin has a row of D-type motifs.	Avi-Yonah F, Avi-Yonah D, Avi-Yonah A1
4	Mosaic floor	Black, white, grey	145 per dm.	The crypt mosaic (4.5 x 3.0 m) design consists of a narrow white margin with a row of F, the carpet field contains an arrangement of of eight rows alternating between two types of flowers. One type round and the other cross shaped. The cross shaped flower is surrounded by smaller F-type florets.	Avi-Yonah F, Avi-Yonah A1, Avi-Yonah B6
5	Mosaic floor		160 per dm.	A rectangle at the center containing a a series of wave crests, it is framed by two smaller panels housing a series of lozenges (1.55 x 0.5 m).