The Church of Laodicea
An Early Byzantine basilica identified in 2010 and fully excavated in a short time, its mosaics preserved in situ — the city's Seven Churches identity rendered in stone.
The Discovery
The church was identified in 2010 by a ground-penetrating radar survey and brought fully to light with extraordinary speed — by the excavation team within the same season. The building occupies a complete city block (insula) in the urban fabric.
Its construction is dated to around AD 340, just after the Edict of Milan — that is, it is a monumental basilica raised in the first generation after Christianity gained its freedom, in the city of one of the Seven Churches of Revelation.
The Building and Its Mosaics
With its apse-like niches, its cross-shaped baptismal font (baptisterium), its opus sectile paving and its mosaics, the basilica is among the distinctive examples of its period. The floor mosaics and fragments of frescoed wall are preserved in situ.
The building has been covered with a protective roof and a glass walkway has been set inside it — the visitor walks suspended above the mosaics and examines the paving closely without damaging it.
The Early Christian Context
The Council of Laodicea, convened around AD 364, entered the source texts of early Christian history through the decisions it took on church law. That the city of the council and this excavated basilica are one and the same place also makes Laodicea a stop for faith tourism.
The church is reached by a short turn off Syria Street; it is a natural part of a visit to the site.