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connections with Egypt, and perhaps with Syria’
and was acquainted with ‘the major trends of
mosaicists working in the countries of the eastern
Mediterranean’.
However, I propose that the two Gaza-Maiumas
mosaics, in the nave and aisle, are similar
in style and execution of details: the white
background arrangement; on the David mosaic
all details of figures and objects are outlined by
three white lines of tesserae—likewise the details
of the animals in the inhabited scroll pavement
(pls. IV.3; VI.1); the rendition of the lioness in the
side medallion of the inhabited scroll mosaic is
similar to the lioness listening to the playing David
(pl. XII.6a,b). The head of the giraffe, which survived
on the David panel, is identical to the giraffe
in the side medallion of row 7 of the inhabited
scroll mosaic (pl. XII.7a).
The pair of giraffes at the Gaza synagogue in
two inhabited vine scroll medallions are rendered
in a natural pose with their bodies covered by a
lattice work of thin light lines separating dark
patches and blotches (pl. XII.7a); a similar depiction
in pose and body of a giraffe appears on
the pavements at Be"er Shem#a (pl. XII.7b) and
in an inhabited acanthus scrolls border on the
Be"er Sheva pavement (pl. XII.7c) (Cohen 1968:
130; Dauphin 1978: 408, pl. 14). Similar giraffes
are depicted at Kissufim (pl. XII.7d). Different
spots ordered as cross-like or round marks appear
on the giraffes found at Beth She"an Monastery
Room L, Petra church north aisle, (pl. XII.7eg)
Madaba, and Jabaliyah Baptistry hall. Similar
spots appear on the leopards at Ma#on and Caesarea
(pl. VII.14d; fig. VII-3a). The similarity of
the giraffes at Gaza, Be"er Sheva, and Kissufim
might indicate that the Be"er Sheva pavement,
though fragmentary, might have been composed
by the same craftsmen/workshop of Gaza and
Jabaliyah, or it might point to a similar model as
the source of the animal representation. Another
proposition is that the giraffes in the Gaza and
Negev region were depictions of nature observation
while the others were rendered from some
model (see Chap. VII, pp).
The two Gaza synagogue mosaic pavements,
though differing in subject matter, are in fact
closely related in style and execution, hence evidently
created by the same mosaicist/s. These
were possibly local artists who worked in the
region.
The Byzantine church near Jabaliyah has an
elongated Diakonikon chapel with two mosaic
mosaicists, workshops, and the repertory 265
pavements—a panel and a larger field, which suffered
from iconoclasm and show several repairs
to faces and bodies; these mosaics are dated by
an inscription to 451 (Humbert 1999: 216, pl. XI
top; Humbert et al. 2000: 123-124).
The Diakonikon chapel was paved with two
mosaic sections. The western field illustrates pastoral
and animal chase scenes on a white background,
in five registers (pl. VII.10a): (a) the lowest
level shows a palm tree flanked by a pair of bulls
and fruit trees at both ends. A rabbit clings to
the palm tree trunk. (b) A lion chases two stags.
(c) two crouching figures. One holds perhaps a
bird in his hands, the other looks at a dog seated
next to him; a rabbit is above them. A figure
holding a stick and carrying a bird cage walks
to the left. (d) A lioness and her cub leap to the
right, perhaps towards an ostrich of which only
one leg has survived; eagle wings have survived
at the left end. (e) The upper register shows in
the centre a fruit tree with a Gaza amphora and
a basket hanging from its branches, flanked by a
leaping bear on the right which probably pursues
a galloping horse to the left.
The eastern section of the Diakonikon chapel
is a floor panel showing a pastoral scene on a
white background (pl. VII.10b). From left to right
it shows a shepherd holding a goat by its horns,
a sheep and a goat eating from a fruit tree from
which a Gaza amphora hangs, and a dog with
a collar looking back at a fleeing rabbit; at the
right a figure reclines on a rock. The inscription
dates the panel to the mid-5th century—451. The
excavators (Humbert et al. 2000: 124) maintain
the scene might be perhaps a recollection of pagan
mythology.
The above two mosaics at Jabaliyah have many
shared traits, such as the trees, the Gaza amphora,
the rabbits, and the figures wearing similar tunics;
all these indicate the pavements were executed
by the same artist/s.
Comparison of the mosaics in the Gaza-Maiumas
synagogue and in the Diakonikon chapel
near Jabaliyah demonstrates that the former were
influenced by the latter, or that the work was created
by the same workshop or artist/s, as revealed
in several features.
The white background style and the coloured
base lines on which the animals are placed in
levels 3-5 of the Jabaliyah field are akin to the
same base line depicted under the lioness on the
David mosaic panel at Gaza (pls. IV.3, VII.10).
The related style of rendition of the animals