In temples, churches, and private homes, mosaics illustrated scenes from mythology or boasted geometric motifs.
Modern developers frequently encounter these floors whenexcavatingin places such as Italy or Turkey.
They found an ancient mosaic measuring 9,000 square feet, making it the largest intact mosaic ever excavated.
The Antakya mosaic features intricate geometric and figural designs crafted from thousands of small stone tesserae.
Scholars speculate it was once the floor of a large public building in ancient Antioch.
In modern Turkey, Antioch was founded by Seleucus I Nicator, a general of Alexander the Great.
Alexander conquered lands east to Bactria (modern Afghanistan).
When he died, his empire was divided among his generals.
Seleucus fought for Babylonia and upon it founded theSeleucid Empire.
Antioch thrived as a trade center.
The city was the center of conflicts between empires in the period of the mosaic’s creation.
The Sassanians, the Rashidun Caliphate, and the Byzantines all held control at various times.
The mosaic certainly existed by 526 CE, a period of Byzantine rule in the city.
This date is known because it was the first of two earthquakes which visibly rippled the mosaic.
The second occurred two years later in 528 CE.
Despite these fluctuations in the floor, the vast majority of the mosaic is intact.
The oldest intact mosaic is not the hotel’s only famous attraction, though.
Special windows allow for viewingSt.
Pierre, the nearby cave-church built by the Crusaders.
