Ancient Christian church reveals mysterious 1,600-year-old warning to nonbelievers: 'Only the righteous'

The excavation took place at Olympus, an ancient Lycian port city in Turkey's Antalya province, according to Anadolu Agency (AA), a state-run news outlet in Ankara.

Excavator Gokcen Kurtulus Oztaskin, an associate professor at Pamukkale University, told AA that the site "continues to surprise us with its mosaics."

The professor noted that "in 2017, 2022 and 2023, we discovered richly decorated mosaic floors at the sites we worked on. This year, we uncovered and restored the floor mosaics of Church No. 1."

The most striking discovery was an inscription found at Church No. 1's entrance. 

Olympus was abandoned by the 12th century - meaning the inscription has not been seen since.

The mosaics also featured vegetable motifs, a common artistic element of the era. 

The names of benefactors were also visible on the mosaics, indicating that an affluent class once flourished in Olympus.

Excavators also found a newly uncovered building that resembles a temple, though more work will be done to determine its age and function.

Archaeologists have uncovered multiple churches, a bridge and an entrance complex.

They also found the Bishop's Palace, the Antimakhos sarcophagus and the Lycian Marcus Aurelius Archepolis Monumental Tomb.