Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (9.1997(1998))

rested on a thin layer of mortar laid directly upon the ground.
Obviously, the mosaic was not homogeneous and had been laid in
two different periods.
Upon exploring the presbytery, it was found that immediately
under the top mosaic in the apse and the eastern end of the
presbytery there was another mosaic linked directly with the mosaic
in the southern side aisle and dated similarly to the late 5th century.
The level of the apse was slightly elevated with a small step giving
access to it. The decoration of the mosaic in the apse is floral. The
untouched mosaic of the original presbytery, decorated with a big
geometric panel in the middle, stops at a row of stone blocks laid
transversally to the basilica axis, in line with the second
intercolumnar space. In the center of the geometric panel, the stone
bases of the ciborium and cancellum were cleared, situated around
the altar which was in the middle. The level of the original
presbytery next to the altar was the same as in the rest of the church
aisles.
The above-mentioned blocks constitute the border of yet
another level in the presbytery, elevated with respect to the rest of
the church by about 40 cm. The stone blocks formed an almost
square space. The steps discovered last year seem to have led to the
presbytery in its first building phase.
The described structure, which constituted a square platform
in the middle of the church, is the first bema (space reserved for the
liturgy of the Word) ever to be recorded in Lebanon. The western
part of the mosaic removed at the beginning of the season has thus
turned out to belong to the original furnishings of the church, that
is, it dates from the late 5th century. Rectangular bemas are known

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