Hachlili Rachel. Ancient mosaic pavements: themes, issues, and trends

Boston: Brill, 2009. — 308 p.This publication is engaged in issues, trends, and themes depicted on mosaic pavements discovered in Israel, the Gaza Strip and Petra (the provinces of ancient Palaestina Prima, Secunda and Tertia) with comparable floors in Jordan (Arabia). The majority of the mosaic pavements discussed in this study are dated to the 4th-8th centuries CE. Mosaic pavements were the normal medium for decorating the floors of synagogues, churches, monasteries, and chapels, as well as public and private buildings. Inscriptions found on many of the pavements commemorate the donors, refer to the artists, and sometimes date the mosaics. The ornamentation of the mosaics in this region is remarkable, rich, and varied in its themes and provides many insights into the contemporary artistic and social cultures.Mosaic pavements adorning buildings in the Hellenistic–early Roman period.
The Jewish symbols panel.
The zodiac panel and its significance.
Biblical narrative themes and images: representation, origin, and meaning.
Iconographic elements of Nilotic scenes on byzantine mosaics pavements.
The ‘inhabited scrolls’ mosaic pavements – a sixth-century trend.
Iconographic aspects of rural life.
Personification of natural forces.
Designs of symmetrical antithetic animals.
Iconoclasm on mosaic pavements of synagogues and churches.
Between synagogue and church.
Mosaicists, workshops, and the repertory.