Image Details

A square opening leads to a natural cave containing Mamilla’s mass burial. A cross incised on the lintel is one of several indications that this was a Christian burial site. At the foot of the cave entrance, a mosaic inscription set within a tabula ansata frame (a rectangle with inward-pointing triangles at either side) pays tribute to the many victims buried here. Because the inscription follows well-known formulas, the excavators could easily reconstruct the words: “For the redemption and salvation of those, God knows their names.” See photograph of reconstructed inscription.