Polish and Syrian archaeologists have uncovered a 1,500-year-old Christian church in the famed Roman-era desert city of Palmyra, the director of the Palmyra museum said on Thursday.
The discovery was made during a dig at the site 220 kilometres (135 miles) northeast of the capital Damascus, Walid Assaad told AFP.
"Christianity came to Palmyra in the year 312, at a time when Christians had begun to build churches," he said. "And this one is huge -- the biggest ever found in Syria. It dates to the fourth or fifth centuries after Jesus Christ."
The rectangular building measures 12 metres by 24 metres (39 feet by 79 feet) and had columns six metres (20 feet) tall, Assaad said.
It had a large courtyard flanked by six columns, and the archaeologists also found two rooms on one side of the building that may have been used for ceremonies such as baptisms.
A small amphitheatre was also uncovered to one side of the sanctuary.
Syria's official Tishrin daily cited Polish archaeologist Michel Kaplikovski as saying the building may have been used as a convent or monastery, as it was much larger than other such finds.
Palmyra was for a long time a caravan stop on the silk road from the east, its richest era being under the rule of Queen Zenobia in the third century AD.
She defied Roman might, even sending forces into Egypt and Asia Minor, before being defeated by the Emperor Aurelian when Palymra was pillaged and much of it destroyed.
Copyright 2008 AFP Global Edition
