JERUSALEM, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- A well-preserved and colorful decorated mosaic dating back to more than 1,500 years ago was discovered in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, University of Haifa (UH) in northern Israel said on Wednesday.

The mosaic was discovered by UH archaeologists in an ancient burnt church from the Byzantine period in the ancient city of Hippos, 2 km east of the Sea of Galilee in northeastern Israel.

Hippos, founded in the second century B.C. by the Seleucid Empire, was the main city in the region during the Roman period and was destroyed in an earthquake during the Arab period in 749.

The mosaic has descriptions and inscriptions, telling stories about Jesus and some church fathers, according to the archaeologists.

The church where the mosaic was found was built in the fifth century and was burnt during the Sasanian conquest in the early seventh century.