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In the first half of the fifth century, the Christians demolished the earlier structure and built one of the Holy Land’s early churches with an octagonal plan, a centralized plan that would become common for Byzantine churches commemorating a holy site. The central octagon, formed by white pillars supporting small arches, stood directly over the old domus ecclesia; it was paved with a mosaic that has survived. The apse with the baptismal font was added later.