Yahoo – AFP,
August 7, 2017
 |
| A man walks next to an archaeological site in northern Israel on August 6, 2017. The site is believed to be the location of a biblical village that was home to Saint Peter |
Researchers
may have found the home town of Peter and two other apostles of Jesus near the
Sea of Galilee in northern Israel, an archaeologist said Monday.
Israeli and
American archaeologists have likely uncovered the lost Roman city of Julias
near the banks of the lake, also known as Lake Tiberias, Mordechai Aviam of
Kinneret Institute for Galilean Archeaology said.
First
century Roman historian Flavius Josephus wrote that Julias was built around 30
AD on the ruins of Bethsaid, a fishing village where Peter was born according
to the Gospel of John.
Christians
recognise Saint Peter, originally a fisherman, as one of the first followers of
Jesus and the leader of the early Church following the ascension.
The
Catholic church also venerates him as its first pope.
Two other
apostles -- Philip and Peter's brother Andrew -- are also believed to have been
born or lived in Bethsaida.
Archaeologists
have long sought to locate Julias, focusing their search on three different
sites.
Aviam told
AFP that one of the sites, the only one so far excavated, was believed to be
the correct site.
"We
have uncovered fragments of pottery, coins, and the remains of a public bath,
which tends to prove that it was not a small village, but a town which may
correspond to Julias," he said.
"Based
on these findings, we believe this site is likely to be located at the site of
Bethsaida."
The site,
not far from the Jordan River, is a few hundred meters from Lake Tiberias.
Water
levels would have been far higher during the first century.
Work is
also being carried out on another site a few kilometres away, Aviam added.
He said he
hoped further excavations would reveal evidence from pre-Roman times, including
ancient Jewish remains, which could help verify whether the site is Bethsaida.
The site
will not immediately be opened to the public, he said.
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