WEST BANK: MUNICIPAL WORKERS IN BEIT JALA FIND COLOURFUL RUINS OF 4TH CENTURY CHURCH.

Record ID: 566232

  • Title: WEST BANK: MUNICIPAL WORKERS IN BEIT JALA FIND COLOURFUL RUINS OF 4TH CENTURY CHURCH.
  • Date: 4th June 2002
  • Summary: (U5) BEIT JALA, WEST BANK (JUNE 4, 2002) (REUTERS) 1. SLV TRACTOR CLEARING DIRT AWAY; CU TRACTOR WORKING (2 SHOTS) 0.19 2. MV/CU: PALESTINIAN DEPARTMENT OF ANTIQUITIES WORKERS CLEARING SAND AWAY FROM MOSAIC FOUND UNDERGROUND (2 SHOTS) 0.27 3. CU: PALESTINIAN DEPARTMENT OF ANTIQUITIES PLASTIC SHEETING COVERING THE DIG SITE 0.31 4. GV: EXTERIOR OF NEARBY SAINT NICHOLAS CHURCH IN BEIT JALA 0.43 5. VARIOUS: INTERIOR OF SAINT NICHOLAS CHURCH WITH MOSAIC FLOOR SHOWING MOSAIC SIMILAR TO THE NEWLY-DISCOVERED CHURCH; INTERIOR OF SAINT NICHOLAS CHURCH; MV CHURCH CORRIDORS LEADING FROM SAINT NICHOLAS CHURCH TO NEWLY-DISCOVERED CHURCH (6 SHOTS) 2.19 6. MV/PAN: PALESTINIAN MINISTER OF TOURISM NEAR NEWLY-DISCOVERED FOURTH-CENTURY CHURCH 2.27 7. MCU: (SOUNDBITE)(English) PALESTINIAN MINISTER OF TOURISM MITRI ABU AYTA, SAYING "And they found a piece of mosaic, and when we examined it for the time being it looks that it is a basement for a church. And it's in good colours, you know, it's white with middle decorations in black, it's the same as we discovered in Bethlehem. We are sure now that this is for the basement of the church here, and this church of Saint Nicolas was built beside it." 3.03 8. GV: ROOF TOP OF ONE OF BEIT JALA'S CHURCHES NEAR BY 3.05 9. GV: WORKERS OF PALESTINIAN DEPARTMENT OF ANTIQUITY WORKING IN SITE 3.12 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 19th June 2002 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: BEIT JALA, WEST BANK
  • City:
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Reuters ID: LVA138S2AUL7YGY5Q275IP3I5KCF
  • Story Text: Palestinian municipal workers working on a sewage line
    in the centre of the West Bank town of Beit Jala have found
    ruins of a fourth-century church decorated with colourful
    mosaics.



    The fourth-century ruins were found when Palestinian
    workers stumbled on stonework while digging sewage lines in
    the town that lies opposite Gilo, a Jewish settlement on the
    outskirts of Jerusalem.

    The Palestinian Minister of Tourism, Mitri Abu-Ayta,
    visited the ruins on Tuesday (June 4, 2002) and said the mosaic
    found in the ruins was similar to that found in other ancient
    churches in nearby Bethlehem.

    "It's in good colours - you know, it's white with middle
    decorations in black - it's the same as we discovered in
    Bethlehem. We are sure now that this is for the basement of
    the church here, and this church of Saint Nicolas was built
    besides it," he said.

    The church is situated at the centre of Beit Jala, just
    next to the more recent Church of Saint Nicholas.

    The Palestinian Department of Antiquities is expected to
    continue to explore the site, cleaning uncovered remains and
    digging for more.

    Both Israeli and Palestinian municipal workers regularly
    stumble across ancient remains while engaged in new
    infrastructure projects.


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