Mosaic Overview

Photo Comments

This is a photograph of almost all of the mosaic in a room that measures 22 x 20 feet that depicts the joy of a high inundation of the Nile River in Egypt.

The mosaic can be divided into three horizontal parts.  Visible in the upper one-third of the mosaic is the Nile River, flowing from right to left and above it in the upper right a male figure from which the Nile flows.  Near the center is a column, a Nilometer, that measures the height of the inundation of the Nile.  And on the left, is a female figure that seems to represent the resulting fertility of Egypt.

In the center of the central portion is a column with a statue on top of it.  To the left of it are two horsemen that are bringing the good news of the inundation to the city of Alexandria, the major Egyptian city on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

The lower section features the rawness of nature as animals devour each other.  Note for example the lion attacking another creature in the lower-left portion of the mosaic.

The overall theme of the mosaic is the joy of the people of the land at the prospect of "bumper crops" due to the bountiful water and topsoil that the Nile has delivered to the land.  Indeed, the fifth-century historian Herodotus said: "Egypt is the gift of the Nile."

The "Nile Festival Building" is the name given to a large house or public structure, that was uncovered by a team from the Hebrew University led by Ehud Netzer and Zeev Weiss.  It measures 165 x 115 ft.  Rooms were built around a central courtyard and the structure may have served as a Basilica.  It is situated near the center of the Byzantine city on the east side of the Cardo—the main street of the city. It was built around A.D. 400 and was destroyed by an earthquake in the seventh century.

For useful bibliography see Here.