Lod (Lydda) Mosaic
A stunning Roman floor found under a street in the town where Peter healed Aeneas
Found 1996 — Construction workers widening HeHalutz Street; excavated by Miriam Avissar (Israel Antiquities Authority); further mosaics 2009 and 2014 (Amir Gorzalczany)
Where HeHalutz Street, Lod (Israel)
Dates from c. 300 CE · Late Roman · Roman Lydda, two centuries after Acts 9
Now at Lod Mosaic Archaeological Center, Lod
How Lod (Lydda) Mosaic was found
Road works hit a mosaic floor of a wealthy Roman villa. The IAA excavated a 17 by 9 m pavement of fish, birds, lions, giraffes, a rhinoceros and two merchant ships. It was lifted in 2009, toured eleven museums from the Metropolitan to the Louvre, and returned in 2020 to the purpose-built Shelby White and Leon Levy Lod Mosaic Archaeological Center, opened 2022 over the original spot. Later digs found the villa's courtyard mosaics and a Greek dedication.
What it is
About 180 square metres of finely cut tesserae in a triclinium (dining room) and adjoining rooms. Its central panel is a menagerie of African and Mediterranean animals with no human figures and no mythological gods, framed by fish and ships; the lack of human images has led some to suggest a Jewish or Samaritan owner, though this is unproven.
Why it matters for the Bible
Lydda (Lod) is the town of Acts 9:32–35, where Peter healed the paralyzed Aeneas and 'all who lived in Lydda and Sharon' turned to the Lord; it was also a major rabbinic centre after 70 CE. The mosaic shows the wealth and Roman taste of the city in the generation of Diocletian, when Lydda became the Roman colony Diospolis. It is a window on the prosperous mixed town where Jewish, Samaritan and Christian communities lived side by side.
The Hebrew word: LOHD
לֹד
לֹד is pronounced LOHD and means Lod — Benjaminite town, Greek Lydda, Roman Diospolis (Strong's H3850).
People this discovery connects to
- Peter (Kefa) — כֵּיפָא (kay-FAH) — rock
- Aeneas — אַינֵיאָס (ay-NAY-as) — Greek name, 'praiseworthy'
Places
- Lod / Lydda — לֹד (LOHD) — uncertain
Events
Peter heals Aeneas at Lydda · Return of the 'men of Lod, Hadid and Ono' from exile
Lod (Lydda) Mosaic in Scripture
Ezra 2:33 Returnees from exile settle Lod. (First mention of Lod.)
1 Chronicles 8:12 Lod and Ono built by Benjaminites — the town's biblical founding note.
Acts 9:32-35 Peter heals Aeneas at Lydda; the mosaic villa stands in the same Roman town.
Questions people ask
What is Lod (Lydda) Mosaic?
About 180 square metres of finely cut tesserae in a triclinium (dining room) and adjoining rooms. Its central panel is a menagerie of African and Mediterranean animals with no human figures and no mythological gods, framed by fish and ships; the lack of human images has led some to suggest a Jewish or Samaritan owner, though this is unproven.
When was Lod (Lydda) Mosaic discovered?
It was found in 1996 by Construction workers widening HeHalutz Street; excavated by Miriam Avissar (Israel Antiquities Authority); further mosaics 2009 and 2014 (Amir Gorzalczany), at HeHalutz Street, Lod.
Where is Lod (Lydda) Mosaic today?
Lod Mosaic Archaeological Center, Lod.
Which Bible verses does Lod (Lydda) Mosaic relate to?
Ezra 2:33, 1 Chronicles 8:12, Acts 9:32-35.
Related discoveries
- צַיִדBethsaida: et-Tell and el-ArajTwo rival sites for the fishing village of Peter, Andrew and Philip
- מָשִׁיחַCave Church of St Peter, AntiochThe grotto where tradition says the first 'Christians' met
- בֵּית הָאֲסוּרִיםMamertine Prison (Carcer Tullianum), RomeThe Forum dungeon where tradition holds Peter and Paul were held before death
- כֵּיפָאTomb of Peter beneath St Peter's BasilicaA 2nd-century shrine over a simple grave, with the graffito 'Petros eni'
- כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹלSt Peter in Gallicantu and the 'House of Caiaphas'Mount Zion's Byzantine church, rock-cut cells and the 'sacred pit'
- שְׁאוֹלCaesarea Philippi (Banias) and the Grotto of PanThe pagan spring-shrine where Peter confessed Yeshua as Messiah
Sources
- Wikipedia, 'Lod Mosaic'
- Israel Antiquities Authority, 'The Lod Mosaic' project page
- Shelby White and Leon Levy Lod Mosaic Archaeological Center