Richard Nowitz

Plundered beauty. This lovely mosaic head and bust of Tyche, the goddess of fortune, survived the ravages of centuries intact but could not withstand the rapaciousness of modern-day treasure hunters. In June 1989, thieves working in the night made off with this priceless portrait. Though the original is missing, the Israel Antiquities Authority is completing a reconstruction, based on drawings and photographs, for display on the site.

Located originally on the floor of a small semicircular theater (the odeon) next to the northern corner of the bathhouse, the mosaic shows Tyche wearing a turreted crown and holding a cornucopia. Geometric designs ring the portrait.