Hidden out of sight and forgotten for centuries in the Shoham Community Forest, near the heart of Israel, archaeologists have now uncovered the remains of an extraordinary 6th-century Byzantine church. The discovery, first made in 1986, offers important evidence of a little-known period of religious transformation. Among the most fascinating discoveries of those excavations is a unique marble medallion depicting the Greek goddess Tyche, a rare find in a Christian context. This combination of pagan and Christian symbolism at one site shows the cultural complexity of the Byzantine period in the Land of Israel, illustrating how ancient beliefs persisted alongside the rise of Christianity. Shock Findings In Garbage Mound Indicate Byzantine Empire Was In Major Decline BEFORE the Rise of Islam Romanos IV Diogenes: An Ambitious Byzantine Emperor Unjustly Deposed? Read moreSection: ArtifactsOther ArtifactsNewsHistory & ArchaeologyRead Later