The oldest inscription with “Jesus is God” was found on the floor of an Israeli prison and was exhibited in the United States. The discovery has been called “the biggest find since the Dead Sea Scrolls” by researchers.

An inmate of Megiddo prison discovered that 1,800-year-old mosaic, which featured ancient Greek writing: “God-loving Akeptous offered the table of God Jesus Christ as a memorial.”

The world’s first prayer hall was decorated with the 581 square meter mosaics in 230 AD, which confirmed that Christians believed that Jesus was the son of God from the beginning, The Daily Mail reported.

In the Megiddo Mosaic were some early images of fish that referenced the story of Luke 9:16, when two fish were multiplied by Jesus to feed a crowd of 5,000 people, according to experts.

The floor had previously remained hidden under the prison since it was founded in 2005, but has now been leased to a museum in Washington, DC by July 2025.

The museum’s general director, Carlos Campo, hailed the mosaic as “the greatest discovery since the Dead Sea Scrolls” and his colleagues said it was “the most important archaeological discovery for understanding the early Christian church”.

“We are really among the first people ever to see this, to experience what almost 2,000 years ago was created by a man named Brutius, the incredible craftsman who laid the floor here,” Campo said at the exhibition’s opening .

Meanwhile, exhibition curator Alegre Savariego said: “The mosaic presents ground-breaking physical evidence of early Christian practices and beliefs, including the first archaeological example of the phrase ‘God Jesus Christ.’

The discovery of the Megiddo Mosaic was made in the Jezreel Valley, where Christians believe the final battle of the biblical Armageddon will take place according to the Book of Revelation.

Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) led the four-year excavation to recover the 581 square meter mosaic floor.

The name of the Roman officer believed to have commissioned the tile was mentioned on the mosaic. The inscription read: “Gaianus, a Roman officer, after seeking honor, out of his own money, made the mosaic.”

According to researchers, this proves that Romans coexisted with Christians in those times.

(With contributions from agencies)