1,600‑Year‑Old Christian Care Facility in Hippos May Be World’s Oldest Nursing Home

Archaeologists from the University of Haifa say they have uncovered a 1,600‑year‑old building in the ruins of the ancient city of Hippos that appears to have been a Christian care facility for the elderly — potentially the earliest physical evidence of an institutional nursing home in the Holy Land.

The building, dated to the fourth or fifth century A.D., was identified after researchers discovered a mosaic at the entrance bearing a Koine Greek inscription that translates as "Peace be with the elders." The structure lies about 320 feet from Hippos’ central plaza, inside a residential block of the Byzantine‑era city on a ridge overlooking the Sea of Galilee.

Michael Eisenberg, Ph.D., of the Zinman Institute of Archaeology at the University of Haifa, said the mosaic "offers a tangible, dated, and clear indication of an institution designed for the elderly." In a statement accompanying the announcement, the research team noted that direct references to elders in inscriptions are exceptionally rare in antiquity and that the wording appears to deliberately address older residents and visitors.

The mosaic includes additional iconography that the team interprets as purposeful. Cypress trees, fruits and Egyptian geese flank the inscription; archaeologists say cypress was associated with everlasting life, fruits with abundance and eternal life, and Egyptian geese with blessed souls in ancient imagery. Those motifs, combined with the addressed inscription, support the interpretation that the building served a communal and spiritual role for older people.

The discovery was announced Aug. 18 by the University of Haifa and detailed in a paper published in the Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphy. The authors described the site as integrated into city life and reflective of Byzantine social values that extended care beyond the family household into organized institutions.

Textual sources from the fifth and sixth centuries have long indicated that early Christian communities sometimes established facilities for older or infirm members, but physical evidence has been scarce. The University of Haifa team said the Hippos mosaic may be among the earliest material attestations showing how responsibility for elder care shifted from exclusively familial networks to community institutions under Christian influence.

Hippos, also known by its Greek name Sussita, was an important episcopal seat in the Byzantine period and formed part of the Decapolis league of cities. Excavations over past decades have revealed churches, homes, public buildings and mosaics that illuminate urban life during Late Antiquity. The newly identified care facility adds to that picture by offering a rare window into the daily lives and social provisions for older inhabitants.

Researchers emphasized the find as a communal and spiritual institution rather than simply a domestic space. "This is living proof that care and concern for the elderly are not just a modern idea, but were part of social institutions and concepts as far back as about 1,600 years ago," Eisenberg said. The team suggested the site may provide one of the earliest material testimonies in the region of Christian communities formally assuming care responsibilities previously handled within families.

Further excavation and analysis of the structure, its associated rooms and artifacts will be required to determine the facility’s full plan, capacity and operations. The University of Haifa team said ongoing study will seek more evidence to clarify whether the building functioned continuously as a care institution and how it related to nearby ecclesiastical and civic buildings in Byzantine Hippos.