In 1996 a series of exquisite Roman mosaic floors was accidentally uncovered during highway construction in the modern Israeli town of Lod. The mosaics featured elegant and superbly crafted animals, fish, birds and other creatures, dating to around AD 300. They probably belonged to a private house and served as a series of reception or audience halls, where visitors would have been met and entertained. The mosaic will shortly be returning from a world...