ISRAEL 4: Bet She'an, Oct. 14, 2009

Satellite view of Bet She'an.

Roman and Byzantine city at bottom; ancient Tel at upper right, where remains of an Egyptian administrative center from the XVIII and XIX dynasties have been excavated.

Plan of Roman and Byzantine Bet She'an.

Images that follow show Palladius Street (running from lower right to upper left); the 7000-seat Roman theater (lower right); and Silvanus Street, which runs perpendicular from Palladius Street to the upper right. Street names were selected by the excavators.

Model of Roman Bet She'an

Palladius Street.

The ancient Tel is in the background.

Artist's reconstruction of Palladius Street.

Built on Roman foundations, and one of the more elegant boulevards in Byzantine Bet She’an (fourth to sixth centuries). The sidewalks were roofed, and paved with mosaics. The excavators named the street after Palladius, the fourth-century governor of the city, who is mentioned in an inscription found in one of the mosaic pavements.

Palladius St and the Tel

Bet She'an, Palladius St.

In the sixth century, a semicircular structure (marked by the columns shown here) was installed midway along Palladius Street to serve as a commercial and cultural focal point.

Palladius Street and the Tel

Mosaic floor inscription.

Byzantine mosaic floor.

Tyche, guardian goddess of the city, wearing a crown of city walls and holding a cornucopia.

11-Bet She'an, Roman Theater, 1st-2nd century CE

Bet She'an, 7,000-seat Roman theater.

Bet She'an, 7,000-seat Roman theater.

Roman theater exterior, exits.

Exterior of Roman theater.

The vomitories (exits) with table for scale.

Byzantine concourse (agora, marketplace)

On the SE side of Paladius Street was a Byzantine concourse (agora, marketplace) surrounded by porticoes.

reproduction of mosaic, followed by photo

17-Mosaic on Byzantine concourse, western portico (reproduction followed by photo of the mosaic).

Mosaic on Byzantine concourse, western portico.

Floor mosaic

Silvanus Street, Roman colonnade, looking east.

Silvanus Street was first built in the Roman period (second century C.E.) and was flanked by majestic public buildings, such as an ornamental pool and this colonnade to its right.

Along Silvanus street.

Artist's reconstruction.

Silvanus Street, Roman period 2nd-4th centuries. Note the large columns on the left and the pool in front.

Silvanus Street looking west.

On the left, the same Roman colonnade as in the previous image. But the wall is from a later period.

Artist's reconstruction of Silvanus St, 7th-8th centuries.

The cutaway section shows the earlier Roman columns. During the Byzantine period (sixth century C.E.) the Roman street was repaved. A large building was erected over the ornamental pool. This building was destroyed in the early Islamic period (seventh century C.E.) and replaced by a complex of 18 stores, with an arcade running along its front, as shown here.

Silvanus Street.

Silvanus Street, showing the back wall of the newer arcade and the stubs of the supporting columns in front. In 749 C.E., an earthquake destroyed most of the buildings in the town, including those on Silvanus Street. A Greek inscription uncovered in the debris of the large Byzantine building mentions Silvanus (a Samaritan lawyer residing in the town), through whose initiative and a donation from Caesar Anastasius the building was erected. This inspired the excavators to name the street “Silvanus.”

Silvanus Street.

What we see today are the reerected Roman colonnade, parts of the Roman ornamental pool, and the restored complex of stores. On the street lie fragments of the arcade which lined the store-fronts, exactly as they collapsed during the earthquake.

Silvanus Street.

Looking west along the opposite side of Silvanus Street. Tel visible at upper right.

Silvanus Street.

Roman Colonnade and Byzantine storefronts.

Silvanus Street.

Roman colonnade and Byzantine storefronts. Tel at upper right.

A toppled Corinthian capital.

The column capitals are HUGE.

That's Abba Niv standing behind.

Corinthian capital

Public latrine.

Visitors to the bathhouse and the theater enjoyed a life of social grace and culture. When nature called, they used public latrines. Users entered an open courtyard paved with a mosaic floor and toilets along the walls. No separation between the toilets, and no evidence of a division between men’s and women’s facilities.

Bet She'an, public latrine.

A channel of running water beneath the seats provided drainage. Personal hygiene was achieved by a leaf attached to a twig. Public latrines also were built in the neighborhoods for the residents. (Only the wealthy could afford private lavatories.)