SAHIR PANDEY
In the Bedouin town of Rahat, during pre-emptive excavations carried out before the building of a new neighborhood by the Israeli government, archaeologists stumbled upon a 1,200-year-old Islamic mansion. The 8th-9th century AD mansion is dated to the Early Islamic Period and is a first of its kind “luxurious rural estate,” which has never been seen before in the Negev desert region. It had originally been styled in the Roman-Byzantine fashion, indicating a change in the tastes of the owners over generations as they transitioned away from Christianity towards Islam.
A Unique Desert-world Islamic Mansion: Luxury and Fine Taste
In the Israel Antiques Authority statement, the three excavation directors Oren Shmueli, Dr. Elena Kogan-Zehavi and Dr. Noé D. Michael remarked that the mansion was proof of the high status and wealth of the owners. “We assume whoever lived here was some local ruler… such estates were totally unknown in the Negev until today,” Dr. Michael’s said in an interview with AFP.
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