About the Excavation

In the early 1950's the municipality of Tiberias decided to construct a soccer field just south of the city's old cemetery. As work began, it became clear that the entire area contained archaeological remains. The archaeologist Bezalel Ravani conducted the first excavations of ancient Tiberias between 1954 and 1956. Ravani discovered a fourth to fifth century C.E. bath house, as well as part of the city's cardo (the main north-south street of a city), with adjacent stores and a colonnaded building, which he called the "covered market."

Unfortunately, Ravani did not live to publish his finds, so the ruins of Tiberias were left untouched until excavations were conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority, under the supervision of Adam Druks, in the early 1960's. Druks excavated along the highway leading into Tiberias from the south. He discovered part of a large building complex containing many rooms, the largest of which was an eastern oriented apsidal hall. Druks identified two main stages of construction in the building, the first from the fourth century C.E., the second from the fifth to sixth centuries, C.E. Since most apsidal halls known in Israel from this period of time are from churches, he named this partially excavated complex "the basilica." Druks's excavations also were not fully published. Once again, the city center of ancient Tiberias was abandoned for over twenty years. (There were, however, various small scale excavations carried out by the IAA, uncovering the city's southern gate, segments of the city wall, and tombs).

In 1989 Yizhar Hirschfeld resumed the excavations of the ancient city, in order to bring to light its lost glory. During the years 1989-1994 Hirschfeld worked at various locations around the city center, uncovering more of the city wall and towers, private dwellings, a possible Beit Midrash and a Byzantine church overlooking the city from Mt. Bernice. In 1993 Hirschfeld decided to conduct localized excavations in Druks's basilica building, discovering one of Israel's best preserved water cisterns dating to the Byzantine period. In 1998 Hirschfeld assisted by Oren Gutfeld, excavated a neighborhood from the Early Islamic period, where they unearthed, what is to date, the world's largest hoard of bronze artifacts. These promising discoveries led to large scale excavations, twice a year, conducted by Hirschfeld during 2004-2006. These recent excavations attempt to better understand the structures excavated by Ravani and Druks as well as to enlarge the excavated areas of the ancient city center in order to understand its the layout, culture and character throughout the one thousand years of its existence.

Due to the untimely death of Yizhar Hirschfeld, the excavation staff who worked with him in the field during the past few years have decided to bring this work to a proper conclusion, which will honor the memory and work of Prof. Hirschfeld.

The first stage towards completing the work is to conduct one final season of excavations in order to target specific questions still left unanswered. The second, final stage, which will be carried out by the staff, plus a team of experts from Israel and abroad, is the publication of the results of these excavations in the form of a book, a scientific report which will be the Final Report of Yizhar Hirschfeld's Excavations at Tiberias.
 

History of the City:

The excavation of ancient Tiberias, a key city in the history of Judaism and shaped by Christianity and Islam, will enhance our knowledge of the foundations of today's eastern and western civilizations. Located immediately south of the modern city of Tiberias, the partially visible ruins embody an archaeologist's dream of bringing this ancient metropolis back to life.

Tiberias During the Biblical Period: The settlement of Rakkath, situated on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, is mentioned in the Book of Joshua (19, 35). It was the original settlement of what is today's Tiberias. Rakkath was founded along the ancient Via Maris, the main road leading between Egypt and Damascus. Its economy was based on fishing, agriculture and trade. A major attraction of the area throughout the centuries is the natural hot springs, found just south of the city. The springs' reputed healing properties draw crowds of people to bathe in their waters.

Tiberias Under Roman Rule: Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, founded a small city on the ruins of biblical Rekkath in the year 19 C.E., naming it "Tiberias", in honor of the Roman Emperor, Tiberius. This ancient city lies to the south of modern-day Tiberias, and is the location of our current excavation. In 61 C.E. Tiberias was annexed to the territory of the current kingdom of Judea, ruled by Agripas II and his sister Bernice. During the time of the Great Judean Revolt 66-70 C.E., king Agripas II betrayed his people and allied himself with the Roman army. The famous historian, Josephus Flavius, was the commanding officer of the Jewish revolt in the Galilee until the fall of Tiberias, when he changed sides, allying himself with the Romans. After the Bar Kochva Revolt in the mid-second century C.E., Tiberias was symbolically purified of its graves in a ceremony conducted by Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochai. This ceremony was carried out in order to make the city pure, and worthy of the scholars who wished to inhabit it. At this time Rabbi Yehuda Nesia, Head of the Sanhedrin (the Jewish high court), moved the Sanhedrin from the town of Sephoris to Tiberias. From this point, until its destruction in the 11th century, ancient Tiberias was a flourishing settlement both economically and spiritually.

Byzantine Rule: The beginning of the Byzantine period in Tiberias is marked by the acceptance of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire in 324 C.E. Tiberias was also a renowned center for Jewish scholarship. The major part of the "Jerusalem Talmud" was edited in Tiberias during the Byzantine period. During the fourth century, the city became a major destination for Christian pilgrims which also used it as a base for their visits of other Christian sites, such as Capernaum, Bethsaida, Corazin and Magdala.

Tiberias under Islamic Rule: Tiberias, conquered by the Umayyads in the middle of the seventh Century, C.E. was designated the capital of the "Jordan Province", becoming an important administrative center. Internal wars within the Islamic world affected the land of Israel, particularly Tiberias, resulting in economic deterioration throughout the area. Also during this time period, Tiberias was struck by three major earthquakes. The first of which, in 749 C.E., devastated most of the city. After being rebuilt, the city was hit by two more earthquakes, in 1033 C.E. and in 1068 C.E.

Crusader Tiberias: The Crusaders' conquest of Israel began in 1099 C.E. Crusader knights demolished the ancient city, standing since the Roman period, and built a new city approximately two kilometers to the north. This new city is the site of modern-day Tiberias. In the year of 1187 C.E. Islamic rule was re-established in Tiberias, following the re-conquest by Sala'adin the Great.. The city continued to be ruled by various Islamic dynasties until the establishment of the British Mandate in Israel in 1917 C.E. The first expansion of the city beyond the Crusader walls occurred in 1912, with the establishment of the "Achva" neighborhood.

Modern-Day Tiberias: Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, as a developing part of the State of Israel, Tiberias has expanded westward (due to topographical conditions); it is now a major tourist city with a population of c. 40,000 residents. In addition to its fame as one of the four holy cities of the land of Israel, Tiberias continues to attract visitors to its therapeutic hot springs, and is especially valued for its extraordinarily rich archaeological revelations.