Damascus - The remains of a fifth-century Byzantine church have recently been discovered in southern Syria and include a mosaic and baptismal fonts, the archeology department of the Dara region announced on Saturday.

The mosaic, made up of geometric figures and pictures repesenting men and animals in the wild, covered part of the floor of the church, which spread 12,5-metres in length and six metres across, department director Mohammed Rifai told AFP

The church was in the village of Heit, near area centre Dara, some 105km south of Damascus, he said.

Syria was one of the first countries to witness the spread of Christianity. Its heritage includes numerous monasteries and churches. - Sapa-AFP