Archaeologists discovered the mosaic in 1996 while widening a highway in the small Israeli town of Lod, near Tel-Aviv. The Israel Antiquities Authority rushed to action to prevent its destruction, and covered up the floor before unearthing it again in 2009. The Israel Antiquities Authority's Lod mosaic (LodMosaic.org) says the floor, composed of thousands of stone tiles stuck to lime mortar, was probably housed inside the audience hall of a grand villa belonging to a wealthy Roman merchant.