‘Good Luck!’ Inscription Found on 1,600-Year-Old Samaritan Mosaic in Kafr Qasim Excavation
Archaeologists have uncovered a 1,600-year-old Samaritan estate in central Israel, revealing mosaic floors, ritual baths, and an olive oil press that together tell the story of a once-wealthy community that thrived through the Byzantine era.
The discovery was made during a salvage excavation at Kafr Qasim ahead of a new housing development, carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority with support from the Ministry of Construction and Housing. Researchers say the sprawling complex, located at the ancient site of Khirbat Kafr Hatta, operated for some four centuries, from the late Roman period into the Byzantine era.
“The size and splendor of the buildings discovered, the quality of their mosaic floors, and the impressive agricultural installations, all point to the great wealth and prosperity of the local Samaritan community over the years,” said excavation directors Alla Nagorsky and Dr. Daniel Leahy Griswold.
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One mosaic features grapes, dates, artichokes, asparagus, and even watermelon, surrounding a Greek inscription wishing the owner “Good Luck!” Other finds include a public ritual bath, or miqveh, and a carefully engineered olive oil press — more common to Judea than Samaria — suggesting both luxury and industry flourished here.
Nagorsky linked later modifications to the site with the Samaritan revolts against Byzantine rule in the fifth and sixth centuries CE, when repression reshaped daily life. “Unlike some of the other Samaritan sites that were destroyed in these revolts, the agricultural estate in Kafr Qasim actually continued in use, and even preserved its Samaritan identity,” she said.
Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu called the find “another chapter in the common shared story of the ancient peoples of this land,” noting that Samaritans and Jews shared deep roots and “experienced similar hardships during periods of antagonistic rule.”
