Endnote 13 – All in the Family

The Franciscan excavators discovered a fourth-century mosaic bearing the inscription “Gift of Conon, deacon of Jerusalem” at the entrance to the cave beneath the Church of the Annunciation. They speculated that the cave was dedicated to the local cult of Conon, the martyred gardener, and that a later gentile Christian from Jerusalem dedicated the mosaic out of reverence for his namesake, who was honored there.