Site of the new discovery
Israeli archaeologists have recently made a major discovery - a Samaritan agricultural estate 1,600 years ago was discovered in the village of Qasim.The site provides a new perspective for interpreting the economic prosperity and cultural resilience of the Samaritan community during the Byzantine period with its spectacular mosaics and olive oil workshops.
Aerial view of newly discovered mosaic
This rescue excavation led by the Israeli Cultural Relics Authority unveiled the veil of this ancient manor before the construction of the new residential construction begins. The exquisite mosaics, ritual baths and agricultural facilities in the ruins vividly demonstrate the wealth accumulation and cultural identity of ancient Samaritan religious minorities.
Analysis of the location of the newly discovered location
Archaeological site
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Luxury Mosaic Witnesses Art and Wealth
The core area of the manor is preserved with stunning mosaic floors, decorated with complex geometric patterns, delicate chrysanthemum leaf patterns, and lifelike fruit and vegetable patterns such as grapes, date palms, watermelons, artichokes, asparagus. The only words "Good luck..." in the local Greek inscription found at the entrance of the main hall remain, and the subsequent characters are suspected to be Samaritan names.
Mosaic floor with inscriptions to wish you good luck
Archaeologists cleaned the mosaic floor at the excavation site
The excavation leader pointed out: "The grand architectural scale, exquisite mosaic floors and advanced agricultural facilities jointly confirm the great wealth and prosperity of the local Samaritan community." It is worth noting that these patterns strictly follow the Samaritan doctrine tradition, avoiding characters, animals and religious symbols, and constructing gorgeous visual language only with geometric and plant elements.
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Purification ceremony and agricultural innovation
The manor north area has discovered complete supporting agricultural facilities, including oil presses, large storage spaces and a ceremony bathtub. The close proximity of the oil press and the ritual bathtub reveals the community's strict adherence to the production of olive oil under religious regulations.
Oil press found on the site
What is particularly eye-catching is the "peripheral ritual bathtub" discovered by archaeologists - its steps are laid throughout the area around the pool wall, which is different from the conventional one-sided step design. Experts stress that although such designs were found during the Second Temple period, they were discovered for the first time in the Byzantine period and have important academic value.
Ritual bathtub, where the Samaritans performed purification rituals to make olive oil
Second Temple Period
The Second Temple Period refers to the period when the Second Temple existed in Jerusalem from 530 BC to 70 AD. Several major sects in Judaism, the Pharisees, Sadducees, Aeseni, and the Fenres were formed during this period. The Second Temple period ended with the First Jewish-Roman War and the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple.
The manor continued to operate from the late Roman Empire to the Byzantine period (4th-7th century AD), and crossed the most turbulent years in Samaritan history. In the 5th to 6th centuries AD, the Samaritans launched several uprisings against Byzantine rule and were suppressed and their population dropped sharply.
Archaeological evidence shows that the estate has overcome the crisis through functional transformation: luxury houses have been transformed into pure agricultural uses, rooms have been re-divided, and early decorative components have been reused in later buildings. Despite the changes, the site still maintains a distinct Samaritan character.
Archaeologists are at the excavation site
Some unsolved mysteries still exist: Why are mosaic inscriptions rarely used in Greek rather than Samaritan Aramaic? What is the purpose of the unearthed precious glass spoon? Archaeologists also discovered two ritual pools with suspected different functions, and their specific uses are still to be further studied and analyzed.
Excavation site
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What is Samaritan?
Samari or translation of Samaritans (Hebrew: שׁוֹמְרוֹנִים, Romanization: shomronim: literally "guardian of Torah"; Arabic: السَّامِرِيُّونَ, Romanization: al-Sāmeriyyūn), a ethnic group living in the Levant, is a side branch of the Israelites.
The Good Samaritan Painting
Samari origin
The concept of Samaritan was first seen in the New Testament Gospels. It was a faction of faith that came from the region. However, the "Samari" in it was not the city of Samaritan in the Hebrew Bible, but refers to the province of Samaritan managed by the Roman government in the Jesus era.
The Samaritans were descendants of believers of ancient Samaritanism. They originated from the various religions of Abrahamic Buddhism and believed in the Five Samaritans. claimed to be descendants of Israel, the northern kingdom, preserved the teachings of Moses' law and used Mount Kilixin as the center of worship for their faith. But modern Jews will not accept them as descendants of ancient Israel. Israel's historian Joseph said that they were the descendants of Assyria who moved foreigners into the land of Israel when the northern nation of Israel fell and remained in Israel.
According to 2 Kings Chapter 17, verses 24-41, Assyria sent Israeli priests to teach them religious rituals after moving into the land of Israel. But at that time, Israel's religion was very chaotic (this is also the main reason for their destruction of the Bible). In addition, after the Samaritans received teaching, they mixed the gods and religious worship of foreigners. Therefore, they have never been accepted by the Israelites who returned to Babylon (mainly from the southern kingdom of Judah) and regarded them as a dirty side branch. They did not have a correct identity in the subsequent history of Israel.
The History and Reform of Samaritans
The Samaritans have always existed throughout history, and their literature existed between the 3rd and 14th centuries. In 113 BC, the high priest and Jewish governor John Hekanus launched an attack on the Samaritans. Although the Samaritans were defeated and classified as slaves with the help of Antioch IX, the temple of Gillian Mountain was destroyed by Hekanus.
During the Byzantine Empire, from the 5th to the 6th century AD, the Samaritans launched an uprising against the Byzantine Empire. The uprising failed and the suppression was suppressed. The Samaritans decreased on a large scale, and the local population structure changed, and the proportion of Christians began to dominate. The Samaritans carried out the religious reform in the 14th century. Their priest Feniha collected and sorted out different documents, referred to the records of the Bible, and compiled them into Abu'l Fath. It deals with the historical origins, religious traditions, worship rituals and other projects of Samaritans. They also discovered in 1355 that Abisha Scroll compiled by Allen's grandson became the most important document among them.
The Samaritans recognized the classic status of the Pentateuch and re-compiled and revised some of the records in Joshua to unify their faith and liturgical traditions. There are five main beliefs in their beliefs:
The Lord is the only true God;
Moses was the main messenger sent by God;
The Book of the Law is the message of revelation;
Moses, according to God's revelation, instructed Joshua to build an altar on Mount Kilixin as the center of worship and sacrifice;
Believe that Tahebo is coming, and that Tahebo is Moses.
Samians were refused to go to Mount Kilixin, and they also went to decline. Until now, Israel has restored its country, and they have gradually revived in numbers.
The current Samaritan
The descendants of modern Samaritans are only over 700 people in the world: they are scattered between Israel and Palestine, or speak modern Hebrew or Arabic, but they still speak ancient Hebrew or Aramaic when they conduct religious activities. They believed that their religion was older than the temple Judaism that the Jews believed in, so they preserved more of the original Judaism. They believed that the Temple Judaism, which the Jews believed in, was a secular religion.
