A lost angel.
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| PHOTOGRAPH BY NASSER NASSER, ASSOCIATED PRESS Obtained from National Geographic |
The 1,700 year old Church of the Nativity, built at the supposed site of the birth of Jesus Christ, was in dire disrepair. In 2012 the UN granted the site "endangered World Heritage status", and are funding an urgent restoration by top Italian specialists. A scan of one heavily plastered wall revealed a mystery shape hidden underneath. The restoration crew, chipping away the centuries of layers of plaster, grew emotional as the pristine angel emerged.
The church's other mosaics, which were not hidden, and therefore damaged by a leaky roof, depict the family and apostles of Jesus. The ancient tiles boast of glass, mother-of-pearl, gold leaf and stones.
The opinion seems to be that the purpose of the plaster was to preserve the angel. Odd that they would choose to preserve only that mosaic and not the others. One estimated that only around 20% of the original mosaics remain and only pieces of the 4th century mosaic floor remains, under a false floor and only visible through a small opening.
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| Jees, just walk on it |
The angel itself seems a little strange. Is it me,or is it slightly androgynous? I'm unsure if all angels of the time were depicted this way, but this one seems to be. The wing seems broken, or is it perhaps supposed to resemble a meteor, a space craft, or a bomb?
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| Possible interpretation |
The hand gesture and the look on its face remind me of the five thousandth time I tried to explain something to my kids.
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| I just don't know how else to say it |
And what the heck is this candy cane shaped white thing behind its head?
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| Captain Hook? |
Seriously, what the heck is that supposed to be?
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| Stumped. |
And what's the broken arch to the right of the mosaic? That's not there by mistake. It looks as though someone destroyed part of the image, replaced it with a window, just to make absolutely sure that no one could find it, and then concealed the angel, leaving just a taunting little arch fragment to tease us. I wonder what it could have been?
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| Mosaic FAIL |
I'm curious to see what else this restoration project reveals. And if the Ancient Aliens guys have heard about this yet?
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| @AncientAliens Do a show on this? How about for a scooby snack? |
What do you think?
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Thank you, National Geographic, for the article and photos of this amazing find!
