Archaeologists in Israel say they have uncovered what may be the oldest institution for elderly care during excavations at the Byzantine city of Hippos, near the Sea of Galilee. The University of Haifa announced the discovery after researchers exposed a late fourth–early fifth century mosaic with a Greek inscription reading “Peace be with the elders.”

The find, made by a team from the university’s Zinman Institute of Archaeology, suggests that organized care for the elderly existed around 1,600 years ago. According to Dr. Michael Eisenberg, who co-directed the project, the inscription demonstrates that concern for older members of society was already embedded in communal life long before modern welfare systems.

In a recent study published in Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, Eisenberg, Dr. Arleta Kowalewska, and Prof. Gregor Staab from the University of Cologne argued that the inscription and its location within a residential quarter provide the earliest excavated evidence of a nursing home. While written sources from the fifth and sixth centuries mention such institutions, no physical remains had been identified until now.

The mosaic was uncovered near the intersection of two main streets in Hippos, a Christian city that once served as a bishop’s seat and was home to churches, a basilica, a theater, and other major buildings. Researchers believe the mosaic originally adorned the entrance to the elderly care institution, giving it both visibility and symbolic weight.

They concluded that the site reflects a shift in social responsibility, with Christian communities beginning to provide organized care outside of traditional family structures, echoing broader changes tied to communal and monastic life. The discovery offers a rare glimpse into the everyday realities of aging and social values in Late Antiquity.