Image Details

ROBERT HARDING, PHOTO BY DUBY TAL
DESERT CHRISTIANS. The Byzantine village of Shivta in the Negev flourished in the fifth through seventh centuries, owing to trade and ingenious methods of water management. Three churches, once decorated with scenes from the life of Jesus, reflect the wealth and religious identity of the inhabitants, who braved the inhospitable environment to develop a thriving, well-connected community. Among the site’s standing ruins is the South Church, which preserves traces of early Christian murals in its southern apse, visible here in the recess to the right of the church’s central vaulted space.