The earliest depiction of Jesus Christ in Israel has been discovered among the ruins of the ancient city of Shivta. It's thought to be 1,500 years old.
The faint portrait of Jesus depicts him at his baptism in the Jordan River.
The painting was discovered by art historian Emma Maayan-Fanar.
She was searching for shelter from the desert heat, and looked up to find it painted on the ceiling in a ruined church amid the ancient city of Shivta in the Negev Desert.
"Everyone describes it like a miracle, and it was, for a moment" she told Live Science.
It is now thought to be the oldest depiction of Jesus Christ that has ever been found in Israel, and it is one of the few portraits that show details of his face.
The painting is heavily eroded, and details are only visible in the correct light.
It shows the majority of the face of Jesus as a young man, and unlike many other depictions it shows him with short hair.
According to Ms Maayan-Fanar, the iconography of Christ with short hair was common throughout Egypt and the Syria-Palestine region.
But it was displaced by the Byzantine imagery of Christ with long hair, which has remained a common portrayal today.
Ms Maayan-Fanar believes that there is more to the portrait than meets the eye
"I think much is hidden under the erosion. It is actually a much fuller image."
The ruined city of Shivta is a national park, and listed as one of Israel's World Heritage sites. It dates from the first century, and is thought to have been a caravan stop for Christian pilgrims in the Byzantine era.
Newshub.
