FIRST ANNUAL 111111W eiftelivit

RTO

Mosaic Floor
Is Unearthed

erusalem — A beautiful
and colorful mosaic floor
from the late Roman peri-
od (3rd-4th century C.E.),
depicting human and animal fig-
ures, has been uncovered during
excavations at Sepphoris in the
Galilee. The excavations were
conducted by the Hebrew Uni-
versity's Institute of Archaeolo-
gy under the direction of Dr. Zeev
Weiss.
The mosaic floor, discovered
beneath the foundations of a
Byzantine church, was a central
feature of a residential house sit-
uated along the city's colonnad-
ed main street, or cardo. The
mosaic comprises four colored
panels arranged in the shape of
a T, in accordance with the tra-
ditional layout of the triclinium,
or Roman dining room.
The central and most signifi-
cant panel depicts Orpheus, the
divine musician, seated on a rock
and playing a stringed instru-
ment. His music pacifies the wild
animals and birds around him,
among them a peacock, eagle,
lion, wild boar and panther. The
other three panels depict scenes
from everyday life.
The center panel of the three
shows a group of people seated
on a semicircular couch at a
round table, with a plate of food
on it. Two other figures are
shown pouring and serving wine.
The remaining two panels show
two figures stretching out their
hands to each other and two peo-
ple holding a stone board on their
laps, possibly playing dice.
According to Dr. Weiss, the
mosaic floor is highly significant
since it provides a chronological
link between Roman and Byzan-
tine mosaics uncovered at
Sepphoris during previous exca-
vations. The Byzantine (5t,h-6th
centuries C.E.) mosaics include

j

a depiction of the "Nile Day" fes-
tival and a synagogue floor. The
series of mosaics affirm that Sep-
phoris, like other cities in the
eastern part of the Roman Em-
pire, was a longtime center of the
mosaic industry.
While excavations of the house
with the Orpheus mosaic are not
yet completed, it is certain that
one of the city's wealthiest resi-
dents, possibly a Jew, lived in it.
In Dr. Weiss' opinion, the house
provides further evidence that
private houses were built along-
side public and important build-
ings in the center of Sepphoris,
a phenomenon that is rare
among other cities in Roman Is-
rael.
Sepphoris, known also in an-
cient times by its Roman name
of Diocaesares, is located west of
Nazareth and was at one time an
important Jewish, Roman and
early Christian city. It was the
home of the Sanhedrin, the cen-
tral body of Jewish legal and spir-
itual life during the Roman
period.
Also during excavations, uni-
versity archaeologists continued
to excavate Sepphoris' network
of streets and the buildings bor-
dering them. They excavated
the continuation of the de-
cumanus, a colonnaded road
built along the east-west axis
perpendicular to the city's main
colonnaded thoroughfare (the
cardo).
The archaeological team con-
tinued its excavation of the Ro-
man public bathhouse bordering
the cardo. The bathhouse com-
prises a central courtyard, a
steam room with a hypocaust (a
double-layered floor in which
warm air was circulated), and
other rooms, some containing col-
orful mosaic floors with geomet-
ric designs. Cl

;'06%-\/Ill€91\)

Tfri-

A show that is Delightfully Different

Cool and Comfortable!

JULY 19•20•2I

Indoors (air cond) & Outdoors

At The

SOUTHFIELD

CIVIC CENTER

GifAc-1%/V.A%-GrN)

re2i n "rkt-

BARBARA

A N N

KARMANOS

CANCER INSTITUTE

(formerly the Michigan Cancer Institute)

Friday July 19 - 5-9 pm. Open to All... Advance ticket
sales call: (3 I 3) 833-07 I O...Tickets also available at the
door. $15.00 donation good for entire weekend

PHILLIPS

(Sat. & Sun. Donation $4.00)

rIN) root' • 1.1\I ML-11G •

P;4421y-Na

More than I 00 American fine artists and designer craftsmen
from across the nation will present their finest juried collections
including furniture, painting, photography, graphics, sculptural wood
turnings, iron work, ceramics, stunning gold, silver and enamel
jewelry...jewelryjust for fun, hand painted silk, wood weaving and
wearable art!!!

$3,000

in $25.00 and $50.00
gift certificates given away hourly 1

ROTHBARD

Show Schedule

• Friday July 19 Preview 5-9pm
Donation $15.00
• Saturday & Sunday 10am-6pm
Donation $4.00 (return at no charge)
Children under 10 admitted free.

A Richard Rothbard American Craft
Marketing Presentation in conjunction with
Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer institute.

TWELVE MILE
0

CIVIC CENT

LD

When Fishman does have free
time, she enjoys being with good
friends, dancing and going to
movies.
The artist, who is single, didn't
know anyone in the area when
she moved to Michigan. Calling
the Jewish Federation shortly af-
ter her move opened the door to
activities and friendships.
Although she has four months
off from teaching responsibili-
ties each summer, she is busy
arranging for her work to be
shown nationally in museums,
alternative spaces and galleries.
Already on her schedule are a
September show in New York,
an October display in Illinois
and a spring exhibition in Flori-
da. El

.D

look for quality of work and di-
versity, because I want a de-
partment that has a range of
painting. The students help se-
lect their peers by sitting in on
the slide review."
Fishman's own work has been
selected for many one-person and
group exhibitions in galleries as
well as museums, including the
Stamford Museum & Nature
Center in Connecticut, Cultural
Arts Center in Ohio and the De-
troit Institute of Arts.
She has involved herself with
other art-related projects as well.
When she lived on the East
Coast, she taught art to young-
sters attending an after-school
program and will be donating
paintings to benefit an AIDS pro-
gram in Atlanta.

ER z

ARTIST page 101

EIGHT MILE

1

1 §I