Luxurious 1,200-year-old mansion found in southern Israel

Two people on their knees in dirt.
Staff at an excavation web site in Rahat, Israel.
(Tsafrir Abayov / Related Press)

Archaeologists unearthed a lavish 1,200-year-old property in Israel’s desert south that provides a singular glimpse of life for rich residents of the Negev area, the nation’s antiquities authority mentioned Tuesday.

The invention within the Bedouin city of Rahat dates to the early Islamic interval within the eighth or ninth century, the authority mentioned.

The posh house is constructed round a courtyard and options 4 wings with a number of rooms for its residents. One part encompasses a marble hallway with stone flooring and elaborate wall decorations. Archaeologists additionally discovered shards of adorned glass that had been dishes.

Beneath the courtyard, archaeologists had been shocked to find subterranean vaults manufactured from stone, which they consider had been used to retailer objects at cooler temperatures away from the scorching desert solar. The vaults look like fastidiously constructed and durable sufficient to permit individuals to maneuver between them underground. A gap from the vaulted rooms additionally results in a cistern the place residents may entry cool consuming water.

Specialists say the mansion’s homeowners doubtless lived a lifetime of prosperity and had lots to go round.

“The luxurious property and the distinctive spectacular underground vaults are proof of the homeowners’ means,” mentioned the excavation administrators in an announcement. “Their excessive standing and wealth allowed them to construct an expensive mansion that served as a residence and for entertaining.”

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