Bible Synapse

Megiddo church mosaic

Inscription · 3rd century AD · The early church · also called Megiddo prison mosaic, Kefar Othnay prayer hall

See it on the map and timeline
Date
3rd century AD (the mosaic floor)
Found
Megiddo Prison, near Megiddo Junction, Israel, 2005. Excavated in 2005 by Yotam Tepper for the Israel Antiquities Authority inside the prison grounds, before a new wing was built, at the site of the Roman-period village of Kefar 'Othnay near Legio. The floor was reburied, then uncovered again, conserved and lifted in sections in 2024 for exhibition abroad. It went on show at the Museum of the Bible in Washington in September 2024, and the museum now lists it on display until the end of 2026; the plan is to return it to Israel for permanent display at the find-site.
Now
Museum of the Bible (on loan from the Israel Antiquities Authority), Washington, D.C.
Passages
1 Corinthians 10:21, 1 Corinthians 11:20–26, John 20:28

What it is

A mosaic floor from a room used for Christian worship in a Roman-period village beside today's Megiddo prison. Its geometric patterns include a medallion with two fish. Its Greek inscriptions name a Roman officer, Gaianus, who paid for the mosaic, the craftsman who laid it, and five women; one woman, Akeptous, “offered the table to God Jesus Christ as a memorial”. The excavators date the room to around AD 230.

How it connects to the Bible

This is later than the New Testament, but if the excavators' date is right it is one of the earliest known Christian prayer rooms, from decades before Christianity became legal. The table that Akeptous gave was probably used for the shared meal Paul calls “the Lord's supper” and “the Lord's table” (1 Corinthians 10:21; 11:20). The words “God Jesus Christ” show Christians plainly calling Jesus God, as Thomas does in John 20:28: “My Lord and my God”.

What scholars debate

The 3rd-century date comes from the excavators; some scholars have argued for a somewhat later date, in the late 3rd or early 4th century.

Sources

Checked 2026-10-21. All archaeological finds