Joint Expedition to Caesarea

An exquisite mosaic of a woman’s face, the finest floor mosaic ever discovered in Israel, decorated a Byzantine building at Caesarea. Constructed above the Herodian storage vaults in about the sixth century, this building overlooked the sea. Originally there were four such panels in the corners of the floor—each representing one of the seasons. Here we see Spring; Winter was also preserved but Fall and Summer had been destroyed. Close observation reveals nine different colors of tesserae, or cut pieces of marble and glass, used to create the subtle modulation of the face.