You'll never believe what was discovered at Jesus' birth site

Though no images have been released, most religious icons depict Christ, Mary, saints or angels.

As the Church of the Nativity underwent renovations, a mysterious icon was discovered.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - There are no images of the "mysterious icon," but it was described to be of "great religious and historical value," and it includes brass, silver, shells and stones.

The icon's age, the scene and whether it is a painting are all unknown.

Two years ago the Church of the Nativity, which was built in Bethlehem above the site Jesus is believed to have been born, began a renovation project.

Daily mail contacted the renovators and UNESCO for more information and learned that the project to restore the building and the priceless art within has concluded the first and most delicate phase.

Palestinians are mostly Muslim, but the Church of the Nativity has been labeled a national treasure and is one of their largest tourist sites.

Al-Bandak, the leader of the Palestinian committee responsible for the restoration, explained that the new windows and better lighting unveils the beauty of mosaics long neglected.

Mimmo Nucatolo, who is in charge of the Italian team that is restoring the mosaics, explained that the green, gold and pastel art is "a unique example" of skilled mosaicists.

Each of the mosaics had remained untouched for so long that he claimed, "From underneath you could no longer see the colors, so much so that some people were wondering, 'Do we really have mosaics in this church?'"

Thus far, the restoration process has cost almost $8 million and al-Bandak claimed an additional $11 million is required to complete the project.

A fundraising campaign has already begun and the Church of the Nativity will be open to the public again near the end of 2016 and can enjoy the safety of reinforced door frames, walls and a new roof.

Afif Tweme, the project manager, described a microclimate system is to be installed to better preserve the priceless historical pieces by controlling sunlight, temperature and humidity levels within the church. Lights and a smoke detection system are also set to be installed.

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