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gable corners of the upper chapel of Priest John
mosaic recall the birds resting on the Ark of the
Scrolls on the Beth "Alpha synagogue mosaic. The
Ark of the Scrolls at the Beth "Alpha synagogue
is flanked by lions, at Susiya the Torah shrine
is flanked by sheep, and in the upper chapel of
Priest John by peacocks. However, the façade at
Susiya and the other synagogues shows a Torah
shrine with an Ark of the Scrolls placed within,
whereas the upper chapel of Priest John shows
only a sanctuary façade.
The mosaic pavements of the synagogues in
the Land of Israel yield a large number of menoroth,
or sometimes a single menorah, flanked by
ritual objects. Most of the menoroth are rendered
with elaborately ornamented arms and bases
(pl. II.1,2) (Hachlili 2001: 59, 61-62). The upper
part of the pavement at Ma#on-Nirim synagogue
is decorated with a menorah flanked by a pair of
lions (pl. XI.1a). At the Jewish House of Leontis
in Beth She"an a (damaged) five-armed menorah
is incorporated into the inscription of the central
panel (pl. XII.4b).
Other Jewish symbols representing the Temple
cult utensils are frequently represented in the
Jewish art of late antiquity accompanying the
menorah, among them the four ritual objects:
lulav, ethrog, shofar, and incense shovel (Hachlili
2001: 211-220). These four ritual objectsare associated
with the Feast of Tabernacles (Succoth).
Another item of cult furniture rendered on synagogue
mosaic pavements is the shewbread table
(fig. IV.20) (Hachlili 2001: 233-239, fig. V-13);
originally, this gold table was one of the three
most important Tabernacle and Temple vessels
placed inside the sanctuary (Exodus 25: 23-30).
A round, three-legged shewbread table (pl. IV.7)
is depicted on the central panel of band 4 on the
mosaic floor of the synagogue at Sepphoris (Weiss
and Netzer 1996: 24-25; Weiss 2005: 95-101).
Another variation of the shewbread table is rendered
on the 4th-century Samaritan synagogue
at El-Hirbeh (pl. II.3a), together with a menorah
and a sanctuary (Magen 1993b: 71). It seems that
these tables were based on contemporary furniture.
In contrast to the numerous Jewish symbols
positioned prominently on synagogue pavements,
a small number of Christian symbols—mainly the
cross and seldom the monogram of Christ—occur
on church mosaic pavements.
chapter eleven
The Cross
The Christian symbol of the cross appears on
several mosaic pavements (pl. XI.2; fig. XI-2)
(Tzaferis 1971: 61-63, figs. 78-87; Tzaferis 1987:
50*-52*; Roussin 1985: 59-74): the pavements at
the church of Evron were repaired several times
during the 5th century. The earliest mosaic pavement
there, dated to 415, depicts ten crosses, three
of them monogrammatic; another cross enclosed
by an inscription is rendered on a mosaic pavement
dated to 442-3 (Tzaferis (1987: 50*-52*).
In a chapel at Nazareth, two monogrammatic
crosses were found, dated earlier than 427 (Bagatti
1967: I, 93-96, fig. 51). Four crosses surround the
mosaic in the small chapel in the Shepherd’s Field
in Bethlehem (Tzaferis 1975). A cross surrounded
by a band of interlocking circles at Beth Hashitta
is rendered on the mosaic in the southern chapel
(Aharoni 1954: figs. 1,2). Sussman (2004: 364-5)
suggests that the mosaic should be dated to the
6th-7th century, and was probably the work of
a craftsman from the Beth She"an region. At the
Shavei-Zion church (early 5th century) crosses
are depicted in the nave of the earlier pavement
(pl. XI.2b) an area protected by a table or an altar
(Avi-Yonah 1967: 48-49, 53-55, fig. 7, pls. VIIb,
X, XI, XXVIIb, XXVIII, XLb). Five crosses are
rendered in the north-eastern chapel and one
cross on the north aisle pavement; two crosses
are set in the southern and northern sides of the
nave, surrounded by four bases, probably for an
altar. A cross within a circle/wreath is set in the
axis of the northern aisle. Below it is a symbolic
design, perhaps a pair of fishes and two pomegranates
(pl. XI.2a). A similar part of a cross with
the letter A below was discovered recently in a
late 4th- or early 5th-century church mosaic at
Tiberias. Several crosses were discovered on the
mosaic floor of the north aisle of the north-east
church at Hippos-Sussita, perhaps dated earlier
than the 6th century (Segal et al. 2004: 88-89,
fig. 90). In the centre of the aisle are four squares,
in the centre of each of which is an equal-armed
cross. Two additional flare crosses (pl. XI.2f) are
depicted in the north chamber of the church
(Segal et al. 2005: 67, fig. 94).
A black cross outlined in red within a round
medallion with flower buds is rendered at the
church of Khirbet el-Beiyudat on the eastern edge
of the apse (Hismi 1993: 160, pl. VIIb, dated to
about 570). Two decorated crosses are found
in the North Hall of the Hazor-Ashdod church