During the 2023–2024 excavation season at Hippos–Susita National Park above the Sea of Galilee, a University of Haifa team uncovered a floor mosaic that greets visitors with the Greek inscription “Greetings to the Elderly.” Palaeographic study placed the work in the late fourth or early fifth century CE.
The colorful panel lies just inside the threshold of a public hall about 100 meters south of the city’s main square, where the Decumanus Maximus meets the Cardo. A medallion of geometric and floral motifs frames the salutation, and surrounding images depict Egyptian river goddesses, cypress trees, fruits, and cultic vessels.
“Living evidence that care and concern for the elderly is not a modern idea alone, but was part of institutions and social concepts already about 1,600 years ago,” said Michael Eisenberg, co-director of the Hippos project.
In a study published in Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, Eisenberg, Arleta Kovalewska of the University of Haifa, and Gregor Stab of the University of Cologne argued that the building may represent the earliest archaeologically attested nursing home. “It is testimony to how the Christian community in the Holy Land during the Byzantine period cared for the elderly, a responsibility that until then had been placed solely on the shoulders of the family,” said the researchers in a joint statement.
Susita served as the principal Christian center around the lake during the Byzantine era, housing at least seven churches and the bishop’s seat. The mosaic, one of the finest preserved at the site, provides the first physical proof of a dedicated facility for seniors within that urban network, the team explained.
“Every layer we peel back in Susita shows a city that invested not only in sumptuous churches but also in social welfare,” added Eisenberg, who said forthcoming excavations would seek kitchens, baths, or infirmary spaces that could confirm the nursing-home hypothesis.