The Byzantine Church of Khirbet el-Lauz

The church of Khirbet el-Lauz, like several thousand other historical and archaeological features throughout the Palestinian occupied Territories, has been excavated illegally during the last few decades. The plundering of the church was carried out by many looting gangs over a period of some 100 days, using traditional excavation equipment, metal detectors, and heavy machinery in order to find valuables. The looting activities resulted in the mining of intact archaeological objects, destruction of the well-stratified layers, and at several spots demolition of the ancient construction. The unearthed part of the church during this excavation campaign consists of approximately one-third of a huge building totaling about 600 square meters in area. Both the visible results of the excavation and interviews with the looters indicate that the floors of the whole building are paved with mosaic of various colors and motifs.