Amazing Animals: Roman Mosaic from Lod, Israel

First unearthed in 1996 in a rescue excavation in Lod, ancient Diospolis, Israel, a large and extraordinarily detailed floor mosaic was recently lifted from its site and conserved. Found in a large villa believed to belong to a wealthy Roman, the exquisitely preserved floor dates to about AD 300. This glorious mosaic is in the United States for a limited time before it returns to Israel to become the focus of the Shelby White and Leon Levy Lod Mosaic Center. The Legion of Honor is one of only four museums to display this treasure before its final and permanent installation in Lod.

Exhibition curator Renée Dreyfus says, “Other Roman mosaics have been found in Israel, but this one is exceptional in its lively imagery and its excellent state of preservation. We are thrilled to be able to display such an amazing work of art in our museum and think about what a great city Lod must have been in Roman times. Each excavated work in the Holy Land reveals so much about the history and people who lived in this remarkable land.”

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New Owner Sought for Historic Warship in Philly

The USS Olympia, a one-of-a-kind steel cruiser from the Spanish-American War, needs $2 million to $5 million in immediate repairs to stabilize it and an additional $10 million to $20 million for dry dock and restoration. The Independence Seaport Museum says it's looking for someone to take ownership of the National Historic Landmark.

The museum posted a transfer application Monday on its website. It's looking for a state, city or charitable organization that will assume ownership of the Olympia. Individuals and for-profit groups are not eligible to apply.

The museum is holding a summit at the end of March for potential buyers, and museum officials are hoping to have the transfer wrapped up by November 2012. They said they cannot afford the repairs and that the Olympia, purportedly the world's oldest steel warship still afloat, will be scrapped or scuttled if a new owner is not found.

The 344-foot-long protected cruiser ideally should have been dry-docked every 20 years for maintenance, but it has not been out of the water since 1945 and its hull has extensive damage at the water line. Its caretakers have said that without major repairs, the Olympia could sink at its moorings on the Delaware River.

Since taking stewardship of the floating museum from a cash-strapped nonprofit in 1996, the Independence Seaport Museum has spent $5.5 million on repairs, inspections and maintenance. About 90,000 people visit the 5,500-ton ship every year.

From Olympia's bridge on May 1, 1898, during the Battle of Manila Bay in the Philippines, Commodore George Dewey uttered the famous command: "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley." The Spanish fleet was decimated, making Dewey and the Olympia national heroes.

The ship later was active in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Mediterranean, served as a Naval Academy training vessel, and took part in the 1918 Allied landing at Murmansk during the Russian Civil War.

Its final mission was bringing home the body of World War I's Unknown Soldier from France in 1921.

Source: here

Independence Seaport Museum: http://www.phillyseaport.org