Byzantine mosaic

A 1,500-year-old Byzantine mosaic, which was found during an excavation in 1957 and has been undergoing restoration at Jerusalem’s Rockefeller Museum since 2006, was reinstalled at its original site this spring at the settlement of Ma’on-Nirim in Israel’s western Negev Desert.

Once the floor of the apse of a synagogue, the 12x25-foot mosaic depicts, among other subjects, a candelabrum, a shofar, animals and scenes of wine production plus an Aramaic inscription. Entry is free and handicapped accessible. Israel Goverment Tourist Office (New York, NY; 888/774-7723; www.goisrael.com).