An expansive agricultural estate that was part of an ancient Samaritan settlement, about 1,600 years old and decorated with colorful mosaics, has been uncovered in central Israel, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Tuesday.

The property was unearthed over the last several months during an excavation in the central Israeli city of Kafr Qasim ahead of the construction of a new neighborhood, the state-run archaeological body said.

The Samaritan settlement existed for about 400 years, from the end of the Roman period to the end of the Byzantine period (fourth–seventh centuries C.E.), according to the IAA.

The Samaritans are an ancient, nearly extinct ethnoreligious group from the region of Samaria who follow a form of religion closely related to Judaism. They call themselves the

See Full Page