November 10, 2010
Interfax
Russian archeologists have conducted the first excavations in the Holy Land since Russian research of Christian antiquaries in Palestine stopped in 1917.
"Here we have discovered a complex of Byzantine buildings that dates back to the 6th-7th century. Perhaps, it is the remains of a monastery with multicolored mosaics," director of the Archeology Institute and corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Nikolay Makarov said at a press conference on Wednesday.
Excavations in Jericho were organized by the Russian Presidential Administration in connection with building a Russian museum and park complex and yard facelift.
As Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia had earlier said, Russian Cultural Center in Jericho will become "the first major project in the Holy Land in the third millennium that was actively taken up by the Russian state." The center will be completed in the nearest future.
November 10, 2010
The Voice of Russia
Russian archeologists performed excavations on the Holy Land for the first time since the 19th century during the last field season.
They uncovered Byzantine constructions in the Biblical city of Jericho, including unique multi-colour mosaics dating back to the 6th-7th centuries. In the words of an archeology expert from the Russian Academy of Science, there is “complex geometry, many plant and Christian motifs”.
Furthermore, some 200 coins, mostly Byzantine, as well as fragments of cathedrals and residential constructions were also discovered.