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Tag: Apostles

  • New Inscription With Petition for Intercession by Apostle Peter Discovered at the Suggested Biblical Bethsaida

    New Inscription With Petition for Intercession by Apostle Peter Discovered at the Suggested Biblical Bethsaida

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    Archeologists uncovered more than 1500-year-old mosaic mentioning a donor named Constantine and St. Peter at the “Church of the Apostles”

    Press Release
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    Aug 10, 2022


    Galilee, Israel, August 10, 2022 (Newswire.com)
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    Archeologists from Kinneret College in Israel and Nyack College, NY, led by Prof. Mordechai Aviam and Prof. Steven Notley, have uncovered a large Greek inscription during excavations of what is being called the “Church of the Apostles,” a Byzantine period basilica at el Araj/Beit haBek believed to be built over the Apostles Peter’s and Andrew’s home. The inscription was translated by Prof. Leah Di Segni (Hebrew University) and Prof. Yaakov Ashkenazi (Kinneret College). It references a donor, “Constantine, the servant of Christ,” and continues with a petition for intercession by St. Peter, “chief and commander of the heavenly apostles.” Framed with a round medallion made of two lines of black tesserae, the inscription forms part of a larger mosaic floor in the church’s diaconion (sacristy) that is partly decorated with floral patterns. The el Araj/Beit haBek site is located in the Beteiha nature preserve, and assistance was made by the Israel National Parks Authority. The El Araj Excavation Project  is a joint project of the Kinneret Institute for Galilee Archeology at Kinneret College and Nyack College. The excavation is sponsored by the Center for the Study of Ancient Judaism and Christian Origins (CSAJCO), the Museum of the Bible, the Lanier Theological Library Foundation, and HaDavar Yeshiva (HK).

    The title “chief and commander of the apostles” is routinely used by Byzantine Christian writers to refer to the Apostle Peter. “This discovery is our strongest indicator that Peter had a special association with the basilica, and it was likely dedicated to him. Since Byzantine Christian tradition routinely identified Peter’s home in Bethsaida, and not in Capernaum as is often thought today, it seems likely that the basilica commemorates his house,” said Steven Notley, academic director of the dig.

    This discovery also bolsters the basilica’s identification with the church described by the 8th century bishop of Eichstätt, Willibald, who reported that it was built over the house of Peter and Andrew. 

    “One of the goals of this dig was to check whether we have at the site a layer from the 1st century, which will allow us to suggest a better candidate for the identification of Biblical Bethsaida. Not only did we find significant remains from this period, but we also found this important church and the monastery around it,” says archaeologist Mordechai Aviam, archaeological director of the excavation.

    The Roman remains that have been excavated bear witness to the testimony of Flavius Josephus (Jewish Antiquities 18:28) that the village became a small polis called Julias that existed until the 3rd century CE. Altogether, these finds continue to strengthen the identification of el Araj/Beit haBek with the ancient Jewish village of Bethsaida. 

    Excavations will resume in October when the cleaning of the entire church will be completed with the aim to answer the question of its different phases and perhaps uncover additional inscriptions.

    To learn more about the dig, or join in the excavations next season, click here. 

    BACKGROUND ON THE DIG:  

    During this season, students from Kinneret College, as well as volunteers from the USA, Canada, Hong Kong, Slovakia, Brazil, and the UK participated in the excavation. Efforts were concentrated on the area in and around the church, which was named by the excavators, “the Church of the Apostles,” due to Willibald’s description of his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. While traveling from Capernaum to Kursi he stayed overnight at a place he was told, “is Bethsaida from which came Peter and Andrew. There is now a church where previously was their house.” Simon Peter was the first to declare the messiahship of Jesus (Matthew 16:16) and so was considered chief of the Apostles. His prominence is demonstrated by the church of St. Peter in Rome that was built over his grave. It seems his home was likewise commemorated in Bethsaida.  

    Contact: Dr. R. Steven Notley, notley@gmail.com, 845-300-5797

    Source: CSAJCO

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  • ‘Church of the Apostles’ Mosaics Discovered in Biblical Bethsaida

    ‘Church of the Apostles’ Mosaics Discovered in Biblical Bethsaida

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    Archeologists uncovered 1,500-year-old mosaics believed to be above Peter and Andrew’s home

    Press Release
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    Oct 21, 2021


    GALILEE, Israel, October 21, 2021 (Newswire.com)
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    Archeologists have uncovered for the first time mosaic floors from a lost, legendary basilica reportedly built over the house of Jesus’ apostles Peter and Andrew in biblical Bethsaida. According to archeological director Mordechai Aviam, “We identified a large apse in the east and uncovered two inscriptions. While the smaller one mentions a deacon and a building project, the larger inscription is a half medallion and speaks of the bishop and reconstruction of the building.” The excavation known as the El Araj Excavation Project is a joint undertaking of the Kinneret Institute for Galilean Archeology at Kinneret College and Nyack College, NY. It is sponsored by the Center for the Study of Ancient Judaism and Christian Origins (CSAJCO) and the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C.

    Next year, work on the site will resume, buildings from the Roman period village will be excavated, and the entire church will be cleared with the aim to answer the question: “Who buried the Byzantine Church of the Apostles?”

    To learn more about the dig or to join the excavations next season, click here.

    HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: In 724 C.E., a Bavarian bishop named Willibald visited holy sites along the Sea of Galilee in his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He reported: “And thence they went to Bethsaida, the residence of Peter and Andrew, where there is now a church on the site of their house.”

    Since 2016, the Kinneret Institute for Galilee Archeology at Kinneret College, and Nyack College, New York, have conducted excavations led by Mordechai Aviam and Steven Notley at the site of Beit HaBek (al-A’raj) in an attempt to identify the lost city of Bethsaida. Not only have they discovered a large and previously unknown Jewish village dated to the Roman period but also a large basilica that measures 27x16m from the Byzantine period. The excavators have now identified this church with the Church of the Apostles mentioned by Bishop Willibald.

    To the surprise of the excavators, although the outer walls were preserved to a height of one meter, not a single opening was identified. It is possible that directly on the same walls of the church, a sugar factory was erected in the Middle Ages. Its builders had no interest in the mosaics and so the interior area was filled with dirt, inadvertently burying the church.

    It is also possible that the remains of the church were intentionally enclosed by a wall after it was destroyed in the earthquake of 749 C.E. It was cleaned and renewed in such a way that the church was preserved and commemorated. Other churches in the region were also abandoned, but perhaps because of the great importance attached to the house of Peter and Andrew, the basilica in Bethsaida was especially preserved.

    Contact: Dr. R. Steven Notley, notley@gmail.com, 845-300-5797

    Source: CSAJCO

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  • Has the Lost City of Jesus’ Apostles Finally Been Found?

    Has the Lost City of Jesus’ Apostles Finally Been Found?

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    Press Release
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    updated: Aug 7, 2017


    NEW YORK, August 7, 2017 (Newswire.com)
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     Excavations this summer on the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee have uncovered what may be evidence of the ancient city, Bethsaida-Julias, home to three of Jesus’ apostles: Peter, Andrew, and Philip (John 1:44; 12:21). It was also a location for Jesus’ ministry (Mark 8:22), and is near the land where Luke’s gospel reports the miracle of Jesus feeding five thousand people with only five loaves of bread and two fish (Luke 9:10-17).

    The excavations were conducted under the auspices of the Kinneret Institute for Galilean Archaeology at Kinneret College (Israel), and directed by Dr. Mordechai Aviam together with Dr. R. Steven Notley from Nyack College (New York), who is the excavation’s academic director. Students and faculty from Nyack College joined volunteers from the U.S. and Hong Kong to excavate for two weeks in July.

    Because of its importance in Christian tradition, scholars have tried to identify the site. Historical sources suggest that it was located near the Jordan River, in the large valley between Galilee and the Golan Heights. For the last 30 years, popular opinion identified Bethsaida with the site of et-Tel where archaeologists found settlement in the late Hellenistic (2nd cent. BCE) and Roman periods (1st-2nd cent. CE), including two private houses. However, traces of the Greco-Roman developments reported by historical reports are lacking. Now evidence has been discovered indicating that Bethsaida-Julias was located at another site, El Araj in the nature reserve of the Beteiha Valley on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

    Flavius Josephus, the first century historian tells us that in 31 CE, Herod Philip, son of Herod the Great, transformed the Jewish fishing village of Bethsaida on the Kinneret Lake (Sea of Galilee) into a Greco-Roman polis (Ant. 18:28). As governor of the region, he renamed the city Julias, after Julia Augusta (née Livia Drusilla), mother of Roman Emperor Tiberius. Decades later, Josephus himself was responsible for fortifying the city’s defenses in preparation for the Jewish Revolt against Rome (66-70 CE). In 68 CE he was wounded in battle on the swampy marshlands near Julias (Life 399-403).

    -more-

    The Byzantine (4th-7th centuries CE) and Roman (1st-3rd centuries CE) period remains both point to el-Araj as the site of the city of Bethsaida-Julias. Under the Byzantine floor of a structure discovered during the first season were 30 coins that date to the 5th century CE. It is possible that these walls are the remains of a monastery which was built around a church. Combined with the many gilded glass tesserae (stone or glass cubes that are used for mosaics) that were found in the first and second season, they indicate the existence of a wealthy and important church. A Byzantine eyewitness, Willibald, the bishop of Eichstätt in Bavaria, visited the Holy Land in 725 CE, and describes a visit to a church at Bethsaida that was built over the house of Peter and Andrew. It may be that the current excavations have unearthed remains from that church.

    Roman pottery that dates between the 1st – 3rd centuries was uncovered under the Byzantine level. A bronze coin of the late 2nd century CE and a beautiful silver denarius of the emperor Nero from the year 65-66 CE that reads “Nero, Caesar Augustus” were also found. This alone could disprove speculation that there was no human presence at el-Araj in the Roman period. Furthermore, a Roman wall was discovered at a depth nearly 693 feet (211.16m) below sea level. Adjacent to this wall was a large portion of mosaic flooring with a white and black meander pattern still attached to its original plaster and similar to other mosaics known from first-century sites around the lake. Along with the discovery of clay bricks and ceramic vents (tubuli), which are typical to Roman bathhouses, these finds are evidence of urbanization.

    Another important contribution from this season is the elevation of the remains. Most scholars agree today, following the excavators of Magdala that the level of the lake was 209 meters below sea level, and so they assume that the site of el-Araj was under water until the Byzantine period.

    The current excavations have demonstrated that the level of the lake was much lower than previously thought, and el-Araj most certainly was not under water in the first century CE. Two geologists, Professor Noam Greenbaum from Haifa University and Dr. Nati Bergman from the Yigal Alon Kinneret Limnological Laboratory, studied the layers of the site and pointed out that there are layers of soil which indicate that the site was covered with mud and clay that were carried by the Jordan River in the late Roman period, and which corresponds to a gap in material remains from about 250 CE to 350 CE, but in the Byzantine period, the site was resettled.

    The El-Araj Excavations Project was made possible through the generous support of the Center for the Study of Ancient Judaism and Christian Origins, Nyack College, the Assemblies of God, and HaDavar Yeshiva (Hong Kong).

    The excavations will continue next year, June 17-July 12, 2018 with the expectation to uncover more evidence for the Roman period settlement and the lost city of Jesus’ apostles!

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    The Center for the Study of Ancient Judaism and Christian Origins (CS-AJCO) seeks to foster greater understanding of the cultural, linguistic and physical setting for Second Temple Judaism and nascent Christianity, the relationship of these faiths and their shared socio-religious milieu, and to support efforts that will make current research about these topics more widely available.

    Our programs and resources support scholarly endeavors with the intention of making current research available to underrepresented students, clergy and wider public audiences.

    Contact: Constance L. Diggs

                   CSAJCO

                   646.378.6148

                   csajco@gmail.com

    Source: The Center for the Study of Ancient Judaism and Christian Origins

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