BET SHEAN

An ancient tel, a Roman/Byzantine city & present day town.

The modern city of Bet Shean began in the 1950's as a refugee camp or tent city known as a ma'abarah. It evolved into a development town once permanent housing was erected. Most of the residents were at the time employed in the textile industry. Unfortunately, the industry experienced a slump during the 1980's and many of the towns occupants lost their jobs. Besides the ancient tel and remnants of the upper seating rows of a Roman theatre, the present day archaeological site was covered by agricultural fields & was totally hidden from view. Realizing that a Roman theatre would not be built in isolation, the Bet Shean populace began to engage in an archaeological dig which unearthed the largest archaeological site in Israel. Ironically, the remains of the city were well preserved due to an earthquake that occurred in 749 C.E. Building elements such as columns, walls e.t.c, fell onto their sides & over a short period of time were buried beneath the soil that acted as a protective blanket.

The city occupies a fertile area where the Jordan & Jezreel valley's meet & is located on a branch of the via Maris, the ancient highway that connected Egypt to Syria. The site covers an area of 400 acres & is made up of two components.

The first component being Tel Bet Shean - a flattened mound made up of 17 occupational layers that was first excavated in 1933. One of the oldest inhabited sites in Israel, the tel was first populated during the Chalcolithic period (4000 B.C.E – 3300 B.C.E.) and is recorded in Egyptian documents from the 19th,15th & 14th century B.C.E. The biblical narrative identifies it as the place where the Philistines affixed the bodies of King Saul and his three sons to a wall after the battle on Mount Gilboa (1 Samuel 31:8-13). The city was later conquered by King David (1010 B.C.E - 970 B.C.E.) & during the 2nd Temple period (586 B.C.E - 73 C.E.) it was Hellenistic city called Scythopolis. The Hamoneans (167 B.C.E - 63 B.C.E.) conquered the city but lost possesion with the arrival of the Romans in 63 B.C.E.

The second component being the later Roman/Byzantine city located at the base of the tel which was first unearthed during the 1980's. During the Roman period ( 63 B.C.E - 324 C.E.) it was granted "free city" status and was one of the 10 city's collectively refered to as the Decopolis.Typical of all Roman city planning, the Cardo (the north/south main road) & the Decamanus (the east/west secondary road) acted as unifying elements around which all structures were positioned. Buildings from both the Roman period ( 63 B.C.E - 324 C.E.) & Byzantine period ( 324 C.E.- 640C.E.) inhabit the site & included the following structures. A Theatre, two Bathhouses, a Sigma & an Agora as well as a RomanTemple, Nymphaeum and Public Toilets - the latter of which is my most favoured building - (refer to photo).

Public Toilets : The user would position him/herself between the protruding stones and do their thing. A channel of running water is located in front of the seats enabling the washing of hands after the deed. The structure was initially roofed but this has disintegrated over time.

During the Roman period it became a gentile city but was heavily populated by Jews during the Byzantine period. Jews continued to reside in the city during the early Arab ( 640-1099 ), Crusader ( 1099-1291 ), Mamluke ( 1291-1516 ) & Turkish ( 1516-1917 ) periods. In the 14th century it was home to Estori HaParhi, the famous 14th century Jewish topographer.

As a result of ongoing conflicts, the city became impoverished. A small Jewish community resided in the city during the first half of the British Mandate era ( 1917-1948 ). As a result of the 1936 - 39 Arab riots the Jews were evicted from the city which was eventually retaken by the Hagganah in the 1948 War of Independence.

Ron Traub (Tour Guide & Architect). Website : rontraub-tours.com Photo's : Rimonah Traub.