“UNKNOWN SOLDIERʺ

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume XXXII, Issue 8869, 5 February 1943, Page 1

“UNKNOWN SOLDIERʺ

WORLD'S EARLIEST MEMORIAL ANCIENT MOSAIC IN JERUSALEM flic custom in many countries ol rendei ing national honours to an Unknown Soldier, after the example of France in the previous World War, is by no means one of recent origin, states the Zealandia. Discovered in Jerusalem in LSb-l, there is here an ancient mosaic, datim-' back to the sixth century, which hears the inscription: “To the memory of the Armenian warrior whose name is known only to the Lord.” This mosaic, which has been described as “ one of breath-taking beauty,*’ measures fourteen by twentyone feet, and once formed the pavement of a chapel, long since vanished. Its design is an elaborate one showing with remarkable fidelity many varieties'of Palestine birds surrounding a spread eagle. Many share with archeologists the belief that this half-forgotten monument to a nameless hero, who foug’ht with the Emperor Horaclius against the Persians for the recovery of the True Cross, is the world’s earliest memorial to an Unknown Soldier.