Tel Aviv [Israel], Israel Archaeologists excavating an area of ​​the Negev Tor for expansion discovered a 1,500-year-old Byzantine-era church wall with drawings of a ship, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Thursday "It The discovery is like a greeting from Christian pilgrims arriving by Shi at the Gaza port," said excavation director Oren Shmueli, Dr. Ellen Kogan-Zehavi, and Dr. Noe David Michael of the Israel Antiquities Authority. "These pilgrims found this church of relief Made its first inland stop, the church is located adjacent to an ancient Roman road connecting the Mediterranean port of Gaza to the main city of Beer-Sheva, across the country. The presence suggests that the relief was a transit point for pilgrims visiting Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and monasteries in the Negev and Sinai "The site is an example of the settlement pattern in the northern Negev during the transition from the Byzantine to the early Islamic period. "The ship drawings on the walls reveal the traveling and maritime lifestyles of early Christian pilgrims," ​​according to Professor Deborah Sewickel of the University of Haifa, the excavation director. "One of the ships drawn on the walls of the church Depicted as a sketch, but so far it can be seen that it has a slightly pointed bow and that there are oars on either side of the ship. This may be an aerial depiction of the ship, although it seems likely that the artist was attempting to create a three-dimensional picture, Sewickel said, adding that "ships or crosses left by Christian pilgrims as witnesses of their visitation to Jerusalem may also be Another picture is found in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It shows a clear two-masted ship, with no sail on its main mast, but a small flag is visible in its upper part, slightly towards the bow. is tilted and bears a sail known as an artemon, indicating the artist's familiarity with maritime life. However, the painting was found on the reverse, suggesting either Wasn't aware he had drawn, or didn't care about it," Siwickel said, adding that with a population of more than 79,000, Rahat is the largest Bedouin city in the world.The excavations, which have been going on for several years, aim to integrate the historical heritage with modern developments. The newly found church walls will be presented to the public along with other archaeological discoveries at the Rahat Nagar Cultural Hall on June 6.