ANCIENT CHURCH DISCOVERED.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLII, Issue 1014, 6 November 1917, Page 7

ANCIENT CHURCH DISCOVERED.

TUN BONKS. OF ST...GEORGE ID EARTH ED. A New Zealand officer, uiilihg to Sir. James Allen IVom..iieaV Gaza under dale or August I,' tolls an interesting story of the discovery of, an ancient . Christian eliurcli with a beautiful, mosaic, and the recovery of the bones op Si, George. ; 'lhe writer ; states: “Three times the voice 'of a dead Greek •Christianity has called' to our troops across ■the ages on the. Army’s journey Irom the. ‘due/,’ Canal, over the Desert of Sapai and ■into Palestine. Tt seems a long time ago now, though if i.s .only , a year, since Major Crawshay Wil.iams .discovered and photographed a small - ancient building at Pchislum, .with a cross over the stone lintel. At Phelusiat, north, of Afazar, New Zealanders found the marble remains of• two splendid .churches, with, jiolislicd- columns.- In southern Palestine Australians, have brought to fight what remains, of. the ravages of time, have left of a most beautiful church, and a magnificent mosaic has ...been lifted to tell the people of the Commonwealth (if that prove, to bo the mosaic’s destination) of j.j 10 faith of an old race, and of an art in decoration prosecuted with the fervour of believers, . .. , - RELICS OF EARLY',CHRISTIANS, “The latest discovery was made at Sheila 1. between Bccrshuba and" Khan Yunus. 'Tims the church was .on the main road from Jerusalem to Egypt, the road the Ethiopian Eunuch took when lie met Phillip, and was baptised. Sliellal in Arabic means “bubbling springs. ll . Perhaps it was at ihese springs, which to-day give abundant water for our troops,, that-he was baptised. The hill on which the church was built was originally • much larger,-'but heavy rains of centuries have washed the sides away. Hence the break in . the . inscript ion which would now sii etch over "the edge of the hill.

“In their intervals of fighting ami marching over desert land plain the men of the Desert- Column have found no subject of discussion more interesting than this ancient floor, and the meaning of, the allegories in mosaic has formed the (heme of many a talk in bivouac after the day’s work was doiun It i.s surprising that to.soldiers who are fighting for principles which had their birth in this cradle of Christianity, this discovery has served to put a'keen'edge on their desire to see more of the land of the Bible? Nothing will better illustrate their enthusiasm at the recovery of this relic of early Christians than on account of the care tnlccn-iu the removal of the mosaic, and the reverence with which the bones of the pious founder. George, or St. George, were placed in a casket. The work was done under Ihe direction, of'the Rev. W. Maitland Woods, senior chaplain (C. of E.) of the Atizac .• Mounted Division, and (hiring the fourteen days he and'his willing band of workers were at their task they were often within range of .the enemy’s guns, while frequently a .Boehe aeroplane crew displayed .interest and suspicion' at ihoir earnest labours. ‘ '; , HOW THE -CHURCH WAS DISCOVERED. “When .we wore making ready for an advance, on Gaza, the A:I’..M. ,of Ihe An/.ac Mounted 'Division ((..’a|itaiii Jordan) went up a high mound which dominated the oldest crossing of the Wadi Guzziv, and he found the Turk's, in digging a trench around the summit’and making: a machine gnii emplacement. had revealed- the. edge of the mosaic. He. made sure, a large platform, existed, and then some-officers and men got to work oil the hilltop, ; and. aflpr removing some six feet of soil and debris...they cleared a. mosaic floor,"measuring some 27ft by 18ft. The floor remained -exposed until photographs and -drawings in colour and notes could' he taken of it, and, after due deiiher-. ation as to the best" means: of removing if. I,ho task of. lift ing it began. The story of how that was- accomplished was ’told me by, “Padre” Maitland'Woods in a. few simple words, whicl] made, light of many <Ji(licullies and trials, ' READING THE INSCRIPTION.

‘The inscription, or that, portion of it (containing ? 8000 small pieces, of mosaic)' which has survived thewrecking work of rains, has been , translated by Mr A. H. Smith, of the Department of. Graeco-Roman Antiquities, British Museum, to road thus: ‘X. (sign of. the-- cross). ■ This Temple with spacious (1 - foundations) was" built by our mofjt lioly ,(bislipp or similar title) and most pious .George . ... . in the year 622 according to .... (<? tlio year of Gaza). Tho era- of Gaza commenced B.C. 61, which would give tho dale'of the church as A.I). 561. Another possible era is that of Bostra, thou the date of the church would ho A.D. 727. The Rev Maitland Woods says the inscription elaborated would read .something like this: ‘X. : And so ho contributed generously to the building of,this church here ; he who was the most; saintly of u s all, and the most beloved of God, George was his name, and the (building was) erected in the 622 nd year after the Roman foundation of the Citv of Gaza).’ - , , . THE' BONES' OF, THE SAINTS. .

“I quote the chaplain: ‘Under,this inscription were discovered the bones of the saint., lying- feet to east and arms crossed on chest. These, almost 1400 years old, crumbled-at tho touch. : The .tight forearm had been, broken,, and had sot beautifully, which was evidenced by tlio extra bulging bone, growth around the fracture. There were skilled disciples of Aesculapius in those days.- Such bones as would bear very careful handling were-.reverently placed in a- casket, but this had to bo done when the high wind of the. afternoon had died down. ; •“ ‘Wo. know little of St. George of Cappadocia, the patron saint of - England,; except that lie was a soldier man, a Roman soldier, and that he was converted to. Christianity in Palestine,- which at tho time of the building of this church, at Sheila] was the radiating centre of Christianity—up to 639 A,D., when Arab Mohammedanism swept like a fire over’the country. Tho mosaic itself, so far as design is concerned, is animated by a, classic gaiety, which savours somewhat of a. recent Greek mythology. The subject is from the words; T am the true Vine, yc arc the branches.’ The vine grows from a most beautiful amphora, designed in many coloured marbles, which must have be.cn imported from East'and West. It embraces in its circles many animals,' all of whom with two exceptions arc making an obeisance to a central chalice, which, is the chief d’oeuvre of the .designer. ■lt is possible that each animal represents some settlement in tin’s district which had embraced Christianity, as the lion now stands for England, the eagle fur Russia, amt An on ? . Elijah . was fed by ‘ravens,’ hut ■'were the tribe who brought him food ‘Bedouins who were known as the Revou tn’bfe, and who . would-be anxious to feed a, ..holy-man in -solitude ? ■ This, idea, 1 .believe, is now,gaining ground. - A'rabbit - jn the top .h-f I dia.iid corner, is 'being .- chased by. a red h'o'jind ; p m-1 nips';, this is to represent a-tribe which, l,ac|- refused to-,become Christian. In frout of ih" east end,‘ where the 1 (illar would .lie, is,a lish cut,-ill , half,, one half in one panel. the.olliei- in another: Dagon was tho fish .'-0(1 of the Philistines’: docs this mean ■ids <i stnidio" ? There-are ninny other designs’ funomr I hem a large basket of flowers carried, -on four handles’,- and a basket of li'uit with bird- necking at it.’ I’A(-IvKi) ' AWAY IX GASES. “This, mosaic and the remains of the saint, recovered from destruction by waters washing away the hill, arc now in many cas.s packed away at a snot far from the seme of battle, they will some time after p -ace is d-.clared find a safe repository in a <-itv win it l!n-y will In' ap;n-< cm led. It is in be hoped the generations who will admire the beautiful designs' and "ill have a reverence for all they stand for will also re--111 sinl > r how the , Empires ligating men saved I!toni for posterity." CANADIAN BLANKETS FOR U.S\ One of tho largest of recent war orders placed in Canada came I rom the Government of the United States. This order calls for thousands of blankets for Army purposes. The contracts were distributed amongst various firms in the Dominion in order to ensure the earliest delivery possible. The total value ot the contract aggregates one million dollars.