Aerial Photo of Ancient Bet Shean, looking north Figure 2

Ancient Bet Shean, looking north, showing the southern plateau and the amphitheater (in the modern town) (bottom), and the tell, the valley of Nahal `Amal, and the civic center (center)

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)


Names
Transliterated Name Language Name
Beit She'an Hebrew בֵּית שְׁאָן
Beisan Arabic بيسان‎
Baysān Arabic بيسان‎
Tell el-Husn Arabic تيلل يلءهوسن
Scythopolis Greek Σκυθόπολις
Nysa Greek Νῦσα
Nysa-Scythopolis Greek Νῦσα-Σκυθόπολις
Beshan Semitic
Beshan Semitic
Tell Iztabba
Introduction
Introduction

Beit She'an (aka Scythopolis aka Baysān) is situated at a strategic location between the Yizreel and Jordan Valleys at the juncture of ancient roadways (Stern et al, 1993). In Roman times, it was one of the cities of the Decapolis. Tsafrir and Foester (1997:88-89) note that hellenistic Scythopolis succeeded biblical Bet Shean on the tell, and in the third to second century B.C.E. expanded toward Tel Iztaba, north of Nahal Harod adding that the tell, which was located east of the new built-up area, became the acropolis of the larger town. The site of Bet She'an was occupied almost continuously from Neolithic to Early Arab times (Stern et al, 1993).

Identification and History

Tel Beth-Shean (Tell el-Husn in Arabic) is located at the junction of two important roads: the transversal road leading from the Jezreel and Harod valleys to Gilead, and the road running the length of the Jordan Valley. The mound is situated on a high hill that slopes toward the northwest, on the southern bank of Nahal Harod (map reference 1977.2124). Beth-Shean's location at this major junction, as well as in a fertile, water-rich valley, gave the city great strategic importance. The site was occupied almost continuously from the Late Neolithic to the Early Arab periods. Beginning in the Roman period, the city moved down into the valley to the south and west of the mound (see below), while only a temple (in the early Roman period) and a suburb (in the Byzantine and Early Arab periods) were erected on the mound itself. The mound covers approximately 10 a. Its summit is at the southeast corner; the city gate appears to have always been in the northwest, where access is easiest.

B. Mazar suggested identifying the city with 'As'annu, which appears in the Execration texts of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom. However, other scholars are inclined to reject this proposal, and it appears to contradict the archaeological evidence (see below). The city is mentioned in various Egyptian sources from the New Kingdom: the list of Canaanite cities of Thutmose III [c. 1490- 1436 BCE] in the Temple of Amon at Karnak; the topographical lists of Seti I and Ramses II; and the Papyrus Anastasi I, from the time of Ramses II. In the Egyptian sources, the name always ended with "l" instead of "n." Beth-Shean is also mentioned once in the fourteenth-century BCE el-Amarna letters. In the Bible, Beth-Shean is listed as one of the cities not conquered by the Israelites (Jos. 17:11; Jg. 1:27), as well as the place where the Philistines impaled the bodies of Saul and his sons on the walls (I Sam. 31:10). Beth Shean is also mentioned in the list of administrative districts established by King Solomon (1 Kg. 4:12); it figures as an Egyptian conquest in the Shishak list at Karnak, shortly after the division of the United Monarchy. During the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods, the city was known as Nysa or Scythopolis and is mentioned in many historical sources. With the Arab conquest, the ancient Semitic name reemerged as Beisan; in fact, the Arab victory over the Byzantines in 636 CE was called the "day of Beisan."

History of Excavations

Between 1921 and 1933, excavations were carried out at the mound under the auspices of the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, directed by C. S. Fisher (1921 to 1923), A. Rowe (1925 to 1928), and G. M. FitzGerald (1930, 1933). In the first two seasons, the Early Arab and Byzantine levels were excavated over the entire mound. The 1923 to 1928 seasons focused on the Iron Age and Late Bronze Age levels on the mound's summit. In the last two seasons, the excavators reached the Middle and Early Bronze Age strata, and a probe was dug down to bedrock. Some 230 tombs dating from the Middle Bronze Age I to the Roman period were also excavated in the northern cemetery cut in the cliff face along the northern bank of the Harod valley, just opposite the mound. This was the first large-scale stratigraphic excavation in Palestine after World War I and it contributed greatly to the archaeological research of the biblical period. However, the scientific publication of the excavation results is inadequate, as only a small portiOn of the finds was fully published. Many years after the excavatiOns ended, the Iron Age finds were published by F. James and the northern cemetery by E. D. Oren.

In 1983, a short season of excavations was carried out on the mound's summit by the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, directed by Y. Yadin and S. Geva. The Iron Age I strata were investigated and resulted in new conclusions about the city's development during that period. In 1989, the excavations were resumed by A. Mazar, also on behalf of the Hebrew University and of the Tourism Administration of Beth-Shean. In the renewed excavations, Middle and Late Bronze and Iron Age I strata were exposed on the mound's summit, continuing the work of the University of Pennsylvania expedition

Excavations from 1989-1996

Nine excavation seasons were conducted at Tel Beth-Shean by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem from 1989 to 1996, under the direction of A. Mazar. One major conclusion of the new excavations is that a topographic step crossing the c. 10-a. mound north of the summit, located at its southeastern corner (between the new excavation areas Q and L), was in fact the northern edge of the settlement during most of the Bronze and Iron Ages, except during the Early Bronze Age I, when settlement perhaps spread over the lower part of the mound, remains of which were found in area L. Thus, through most of the Bronze and Iron Ages the settlement at Beth Shean probably did not exceed c. 4 a. It has been suggested by B. Arubas that the mound was cut to some extent on the south and west during large scale earth moving operations during the Early Roman period, when the civil center of Nysa-Scythopolis was constructed; this might explain the lack of fortifications and the fact that buildings in all periods were found cut on the southern and western parts of the mound.

Maps and Plans
Maps and Plans

  • Wide Aerial View of Beth Shean
    View of the ancient site (at top), the amphitheater, and the modern town (at bottom), looking north.

    Stern et. al. (2008)
    from Amihai Mazar in Stern et. al. (2008)
  • Aerial View of Tel Beth Shean
    Aerial View of Tel Beth Shean

    Stern et. al. (2008)
    from Amihai Mazar in Stern et. al. (2008)
  • Plan of Tel Beth Shean with
    Beth-Shean (Scythopolis): plan of the site.

    Stern et. al. (2008)
    city walls from Amihai Mazar in Stern et. al. (2008)
  • General map of Scythopolis/Bet Shean/Baysān
    Figure C

    General map of Scythopolis — Bet Shean

    1. Civic center
    2. Theater
    3. Western bathhouse
    4. Palladius Street
    5. Valley Street
    6. Northeast gate and Byzantine bazaar
    7. Hellenistic quarter on Tel Iztaba
    8. Hellenistic building
    9. Northwest gate
    10. Monastery of the Lady Mary
    11. Church of the Martyr
    12. Andreas' Church


    Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
    from Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
  • Map of the Mound showing excavation areas
    Tel Beth-Shean

    topographic map showing excavation areas of Hebrew University expedition.

    Stern et. al. (2008)
    of Hebrew University expedition from Amihai Mazar in Stern et. al. (2008)
  • Plan of city center of
    Beth-Shean (Scythopolis): plan of the city center.

    Stern et. al. (2008)
    Beth Shean from Amihai Mazar in Stern et. al. (2008)
  • Map of the central area of Scythopolis/Bet Shean/Baysān
    Figure D

    Map of the central area of Scythopolis—Bet Shean (excavations of the Hebrew University and the Israel Antiquities Authority

    1. Theater
    2. Portico in front of the Theater
    3. Western bathhouse
    4. Propylon in Palladius Street
    5. Shops of the Roman Period
    6. Palladius Street
    7. Sigma
    8. Odeaon
    9. Collonnades and reconstructed Roman temenos (?)
    10. Dismantled Roman colonnades,with a Byzantine public building above them
    11. Northern Street
    12. Propylon and stairway to the tell
    13. Propylon between the temple esplanade and the tell
    14. Temple with the round cella
    15. Nymphaeum
    16. Monument of Antonius
    17. Valley Street
    18. Central Monument
    19. Roman basilica, with porticoes of the Byzantine agora above it
    20. Byzantine agora
    21. Umayyad ceramic workshop
    22. Roman temple
    23. Roman cult structures
    24. Public latrine
    25. Eastern bathhouse
    26. Roman portico, later Silvanus Hall
    27. Roman decorative pool, with Umayyad shops above it
    28. Silvanus Street (JW: Row of shops where coin hoard providing terminus post quem for 749 quake was found)
    29. Semicircular plaza


    Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
    from Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
  • Map of central Scythopolis/Bet Shean/Baysān
    Figure 4.4

    Map of central Baysān (from R. Bar-Nathan and W. Atrash, Baysān, 5, plan 1.3).

    Blanke and Walmsley (2022)
    from Blanke and Walmsley (2022)
  • Southeast end of Silvanus Street (Earthquake debris)
    Figure F

    Segment of the remains near the southeast end of Silvanus Street, showing the collapsed shops and arcade after the earthquake of 749 C.E. (after Foerster and Tsafrir, ESI 11 [1992], fig. 45)

    1. Silvanus Street (only the central line of stone is marked on the plan)
    2. Facade and arcade of the Umayyad shops as collapsed in the earthquake of 749 C.E
    3. Later Umayyad building and installations
    4. Facade of the Umayyad shops, built on top of the Roman decorative pool
    5. Umayyad shops
    6. Stylobate and line of the Roman colonnade, later blocked by the rear wall of the Umayyad shops
    7. A lane crossing the Umayyad bazaar
    8. Opus sectile segment of the promenade around the Roman pool
    9. Umayyad portico built along the rear side of the shops
    10. A base in the line of columns and piers of the Byzantine Silvanus Hall


    Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
    from Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
  • post-749 earthquake administrative complex at Baysān from
    Figure 4.9

    Plan of the post-749 earthquake administrative complex at Baysān, c. later eighth to eleventh centuries (based on G. M. Fitzgerald, Beth-Shan Excavations 1921–23. foldout plan, modified by Alan Walmsley).

    Blanke and Walmsley (2022)
    Blanke and Walmsley (2022)

Chronology
Stratigraphy

Stern et. al. (2008)

Stratigraphy of Beit She'an Stratigraphy of Tel Beth-Shean - This chart presents the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania Expedition (UME) strata and local stratigraphy in the Hebrew University (HU) excavations at Tel Bet-Shean

Stern et. al. (2008)


Stern et. al. (1993)

Stratigraphy of Beit She'an Stratigraphy of Beit She'an

Stern et. al. (1993 v. 1)


The Iron Age in the Southern Levant

363 CE earthquake

Raphael and Bijovsky (2014) report that

The collapse of the roof of the Bet She'an odeum and the partial destruction of the theater were attributed to the 363 CE earthquake. A major wave of construction in the city center is thought to be related to earthquake damage (Foerster and Tsafrir 1988:18, 15-32; Foerster and Tsafrir 1992a:11-12; Foerster and Tsafrir 1992b; Foerster 1993; Atrash 2003:VI; Mazor and Najjar 2007:14,17,55-56,70,187).
Tsafrir and Foester (1997:108-109) discussed the 363 CE earthquake at Bet She'an
The excavations have shown that Scythopolis was damaged by the famous earthquake of the year 363 c.E. Beshan is mentioned as partly destroyed in a Syriac manuscript [Letter attributed to Cyril] that gives a list of the ruined settlements in Palestine by name. The excavations support the information given in the source that the city was only partially destroyed. The damage has been discerned mainly through the rebuilding of several Roman monuments in various locations at the site. The stratigraphy, the similar character of the rebuilding, and the distribution of ruined or renovated monuments all over the city center have led us to the conclusion that the monuments were damaged at the same time, most likely by an earthquake. The reconstruction of the monuments after the earthquake was somewhat inferior to the original second-century construction, but the classical character of the restoration proves that the classical tradition was still alive in the late fourth century.

The fate of each individual monument, whether restored or left in ruins, is significant, as the act of reconstruction and the extent of investment in each of the public buildings reflect the order of priorities of the citizens, the city council, the provincial administration, and the metropolitan bishop.104

...

The nymphaeum, next to the temple, was severely damaged during the earthquake and then rebuilt "from the foundations" by the governor (archon) Artemidorus, the περίβλεπτος (spectabilis) comes. This information is supplied by a monumental inscription incised on the decorated architrave above the podium in the central niche of the nymphaeum (Fig. 22
Figure 22

The left part of the inscription engraved on a second-century decorated architrave mentioning the governor Artemidorus and the construction of the nymphaeum

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
).110 The date of the rebuilding is unknown, but the fact that the inscription is adorned by crosses shows that it could not have been incised before the mid-fourth century.
Footnotes

104 An inscription on a large limestone slab was found near the theater (the original provenience is unclear) with an inscription saying that the city was renovated (άνενεώθη) in the days of the Metro(politan) Ablabius; Mazor, ESI 6 (1987-88), 22. The text refers to the restoration of the city (ή πόλις) in general; thus it is reasonable to connect it with the restoration of buildings in Scythopolis after the earthquake of 363 G.E. If the title of Ablabius means that he was the metropolitan bishop of the province of Palaestina Secunda (not to be confused with the governor, Taurus Syncletius Ablabius, mentioned in another inscription), we have an indication, dated no earlier than the foundation of the province in the late 4th or early 5th century, of the involvement of church leaders in municipal matters.

110 For the inscription of the nymphaeum, see Foerster and Tsafrir, ESI 6 (1987-88), 27-28. Artemidorus' high rank of peribleptos or spectabilis suggests that he was the governor of Palestine before its division into three parts and the foundation of Palaestina Secunda. As he was active around 400 (and no later than 404; see below), we may conclude that the division of Palestine took place some time between 400 and 409, the date of the edict mentioning the three Palestines (CTh 7.4.30). The date given by Malalas, Chronographia 13 (ed. Dindorf, 347), that relates this reorganization of Palestine to the days of Theodosius I (379-395 c.E.) seems, therefore, too early. Still, it is possible that Artemidorus gained his high rank for his personal virtues, with no relation to his appointment in a province of lower status, but such an interpretation seems to us less likely.

End 6th to 2nd half of the 7th century CE earthquake

Tsafrir and Foester (1997:138) discussed this earthquake at Bet She'an

Silvanus Hall, situated between the street and the former eastern bathhouse, on both sides of the Roman portico, had fallen down, at least in part, in an earlier earthquake.234
Footnotes

234 see above, note 166

166 One may suggest that the damage was caused by the earthquake of 551, mentioned in several sources, or more likely another earthquake mentioned in sources of the 6th-7th century. For example, see K. W Russell, "The Earthquake Chronology of Palestine and Northwest Arabia from the Second through the Mid-Eighth Century A.D.," BASOR 260 (1985), 37-59, esp. 44 46; D. H. K. Amiran, E. Arieh, and T Turcotte, "Earthquakes in Israel and Adjacent Areas: Macroseismic Observation since 100 B.C.E.," IEJ 44 (1994), 266. However, this earthquake seems to have been less damaging than that of 363 C.E., and much smaller than the earthquake of 749 C.E. It is possible that Silvanus Hall collapsed in one of the minor earthquakes that are frequent along the Jordan Rift Valley; many of them have left no trace in the sources. Other monuments that might have fallen at the same time are the porticoes of Palladius Street, the sigma, and the Byzantine agora.

Tsafrir and Foester (1997:143-144) discussed this earthquake further
We cannot point to any specific event that may have harmed Scythopolis in the late period of Justinian and that might explain the absence of building inscriptions postdating that period (except for the rebuilding of the lepers' bathhouse by Bishop Theodorus in 558/9 and perhaps the foundation of the Monastery of the Lady Mary before 553 or before 567).258 One significant additional natural disaster was an earthquake, the exact date of which is still unknown; it happened some time after the foundation of Silvanus Hall (and probably the Byzantine agora) and before the building of the Umayyad street of shops. We tend to date the earthquake, on the basis of general archaeological circumstances, somewhere between the end of the sixth century and the second half of the seventh. This earthquake caused the destruction of Silvanus Hall; all the columns in the southwest part of the hall were found collapsed in the same direction, in a way that leaves no doubt about the cause of the destruction (other columns and piers were taken away by the Umayyad builders, and thus we are unaware of how they collapsed). The earthquake rubble was covered by a layer of debris, beneath the floor level of the later, Umayyad, building. It seems likely that the same earthquake caused the collapse of the porticoes of the Byzantine agora, the portico of the sigma, and most probably the columns of Palladius Street. As mentioned above (pp. 125, 137-38), the drums of the columns were arranged in rows across the street and its sidewalks (Figs. 60
Figure 60

Drums of the columns of Palladius Street, terracing the area of the street and its northwest sidewalk, looking northwest

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
61
Figure 61

Drums of the columns of Palladius Street, terracing the northwest sidewalk of the street, looking northwest

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
), perhaps creating agricultural terraces and provisional buildings, some time before the earthquake, concealing the pavement of Palladius Street and totally preventing any use of the street, even as a dirt road (although the large drainage channel underneath it continued to function). We tend to date this stage of terracing, together with the use of the sigma as a Muslim cemetery, to the very beginning of the eighth century. On the other hand, a follis of Justin II (565-578 c.E.) was found in a section made beneath the pavement of Palladius Street, indicating that the street was used and the pavement of the street was repaired, in that section, no earlier than 565 C.E. This earthquake, which is apparently not mentioned in the lists of earthquakes, affected the city but did not cause total destruction. The most important difference between this earthquake and that of 363 is that the earlier earthquake created a challenge that was vigorously met by the city authorities and by governors such as Artemidorus, who rebuilt many of the ruined monuments and added new ones. The later earthquake struck a town that could recruit neither the resources nor the motivation to respond to the damage with the necessary enterprise.
Footnotes

258 see above, note 79, 140

79 The earliest dated inscription probably refers to the year 553/4 C.E. (Fitzgerald, Sixth Century Monastery, 16), but it is clear that the foundation took place some time before that date. Fitzgerald also considers the date of 568/9, which is also supported by M. Avi-Yonah, "Mosaic Pavements in Palestine," QDAP 2 (1932), 143. If this is correct, the earliest dated inscription is the burial epitaph of the year 567: Fitzgerald, Sixth Century Monastery

140 M. Avi-Yonah, "The Bath of the Lepers at Scythopolis," IEJ 13 (1963), 325-26.

Blanke and Walmsley (2022) described (primarily rebuilding) archaeoseismic evidence at Bet She'an (Baysan)
The severe impact of the 659 earthquake is more obvious at Baysān, given the extent of excavations there. As at Fiḥl, post-earthquake rebuilding programs focussed on freeing space and enabling civic recovery programs in response to post-earthquake expectations on the rebuilding of urban infrastructure, economic opportunities and the revitalisation of community belonging. One informative case was the complete collapse of the sixth-century civic basilica on Silvanus Street (Fig. 4.4 [16]
Figure 4.4

Map of central Baysān (from R. Bar-Nathan and W. Atrash, Baysān, 5, plan 1.3).

Blanke and Walmsley (2022)
), and its replacement on the south side of the street by a string of twenty new shops set behind arched colonnades (Fig. 4.8).55 The discovery of two mosaic inscriptions from a fallen portal in the south colonnade identified construction as commissioned by the Caliph Hishām b. 'Abd al-Malik (r. 724–743) and implemented by the governor ('amīr) of the Jund al-Urdunn.56 Other public buildings, outdated and weakened by tectonics, lost any remnant of their original function; rather, their value was measured in reusable building stone and as suitable locations for large pottery and linen workshops in need of easy access and water supplies. In this way the theatre (Fig. 4.4 [1]
Figure 4.4

Map of central Baysān (from R. Bar-Nathan and W. Atrash, Baysān, 5, plan 1.3).

Blanke and Walmsley (2022)
), east and west baths (Fig. 4.4 [17 and 6]), the agora (Fig. 4.4 [14]) and former Caesarion (Fig. 4.4 [7]) were given new purpose unrelated to their original role. At the same time, market activity along the streets was maintained with new rows of shops reclaiming derelict areas and infilling open zones, for which the uneven stone paving of narrowed streets was resurfaced to favour the hooves and feet of work animals – mules, donkeys, horses, oxen and camels – and to protect the precious cargos they carried.57 Hence gravel and earth layers over streets were often intentional interventions, not a mark of decline.

Footnotes

55 Tsafrir and Foerster, ‘Urbanism at Scythopolis’, 138–139. Arched street colonnades also feature at early eighth century Anjar, a new foundation in the Biqā valley of Lebanon; Finster, ‘Researches in ꜤAnjar’, 210–212.

56 Khamis, ‘Two wall mosaic inscriptions’, 159–176; the south colonnade flaned the back wall of the marketplace and was part of a second building phase; unclear is the structure to which the colonnade and portal faced.

57 Wilkinson, Jerusalem Pilgrims, 32, 106, carts and wagons were rare; major role of camels: Kraemer, Excavations at Nessana. Volume 3, 209–211; restorative surfacing of streets with gravel, earth and plaster is documented at Jarash, Fiḥl and Ṣaffūriah/Sepphoris; Fihl: Hennessy et al., ‘Preliminary report’, 299–300. Ṣaffūriah: Weiss, ‘Sepphoris’, 202.

Langgut et al (2015) report possible archeoseismic evidence for the Jordan Valley Quake at Bet Sh 'ean citing Bar-Nathan and Atrash (2011:8, 153.154, table 4.4).

Russell (1985) reported the following
Fitzgerald (1931:7) uncovered three Byzantine houses that had collapsed and burned in the early 7th century, sealing coins of Anastasius I, Justin II, Maurice Tiberius. and Phocas beneath their destruction debris. a temporal span ca. 491-610.

In the Byzantine monastery at Beth-shan, gold coins of Heraclius (610- 641) were sealed beneath similar collapse debris Fitzgerald (1939:2) .
Such damage could have also been the result of the Byzantine-Sassanian War of 602-628 CE.

mid 8th century CE earthquake

Collapse from mid 8th century CE in Bet She'an Gold Coin dated AH 131 in Bet She'an Plate I (left) - Partially restored facade of shops in Bet Shean, showing in the lower half the collapsed upper courses of the walls and arcades of the portico.

Plate II (right) - Gold dinar excavated at Bet She'an, with the marginal legend: 'in the name of Allah, this dinar was minted in the year one hundred thirty one'.

Tsafrir and Foerster (1992b)


Tsafrir and Foerster (1992b) reported on artifacts found beneath a destruction layer of earthquake induced rubble from what was once an arcaded commercial street in the Byzantine/Early Arab period in Bet She 'an. Among the many artifacts found were pottery, glass and metal vessels, balances, jewelry, and coins. The artifacts dated to the mid 8th century CE. None of the coins dated to later than the first half of the 8th century CE. Of particular significance was a coin hoard discovered in one of the shops. The hoard included 31 gold dinars. The earliest coin from this hoard dated to A.H. 78 (30 March 697 — 19 March 698 CE) and the latest (see Plate II above) was minted in A.H. 131 (31 August 748 - 19 August 749 CE). This coin provides a terminus post quem for the earthquake and, due to its near mint condition, likely a terminus ante quem as well.

Tsafrir and Foester (1997:136) discussed the 749 CE earthquake at Bet She'an
On January 18, 749 C.E., Bet Shean was completely destroyed by an enormous earthquake, well documented in literary sources and archaeological finds. Remains of the collapse were found everywhere in the excavation. In many places the survivors, or perhaps squatters, returned to the ruined houses and settled on top of the debris. No serious effort was made to restore the old buildings, let alone the streets and monuments. From the archaeological point of view, it is fairly easy to distinguish between the layers beneath the earthquake debris and the new buildings above it. Incidentally, the destructive earthquake occurred in the last year of the rule of the Umayyad dynasty, providing a convenient distinction between the medieval, Abbasid, and Fatimid strata above the earthquake debris and the Byzantine and early Islamic strata beneath it. Moreover, the Abbasid buildings after 749 C.E. were built in the style that had been widely used in the earlier Umayyad period; it is likely that many of these settlers were the people who had lived on the site before the earthquake. It is therefore legitimate to consider the rustic post-earthquake structures as representative of the character of Bet Shean before the earthquake.
Walmsley (2001:57) dates construction of the market (on Silvanus Street where the coin hoard was found ?) to the time of Hisham (AD 724-743). Walmsley (2007) characterized Bet She'an as being utterly flattened by the earthquake with the still-standing monumental architecture of the Roman and late antique city obliterated by the ferocity of the tremor (fig. 10
Figure 10

‘The deafening roar of devastation’: fallen columns at the crossroads of Baysan; note the impact of the column on the street paving (Walmsley).

Walmsley (2007)
)

Seismic Effects
363 CE earthquake

Seismic Effects reported by Raphael and Bijovsky (2014) include

  • Collapse of the roof of the odeum
  • partial destruction of the theater
Photos of Seismic Destruction

  • CAVEAT: Some photos may be misdated
Photos of Seismic Destruction
Description Photo Reference
Roman Theater
Figure 16

The Roman theater, looking east (after Mazor and Bar-Nathan, Qadmoniot 107—8 [1994], 122)

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Fallen Statues
Figure 37

Headless statue of Aphrodite as found in the hypocaust of the eastern bathhouse

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)

End 6th to 2nd half of the 7th century CE earthquake

Description Reference
Destruction of Silvanus Hall all the columns in the southwest part of the hall were found collapsed in the same direction Tsafrir and Foester (1997:143-144)
The earthquake rubble was covered by a layer of debris, beneath the floor level of the later, Umayyad, building Tsafrir and Foester (1997:143-144)
It seems likely that the same earthquake caused the collapse of the porticoes of the Byzantine agora Tsafrir and Foester (1997:143-144)
It seems likely that the same earthquake caused the collapse of the portico of the sigma Tsafrir and Foester (1997:143-144)
It seems likely that the same earthquake caused the collapse of the columns of Palladius Street Tsafrir and Foester (1997:143-144)
Photos of Seismic Destruction

  • CAVEAT: Some photos may be misdated
Photos of Seismic Destruction
Description Photo Reference
Palladius Street
Figure 60

Drums of the columns of Palladius Street, terracing the area of the street and its northwest sidewalk, looking northwest

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Palladius Street
Figure 61

Drums of the columns of Palladius Street, terracing the northwest sidewalk of the street, looking northwest

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)

mid 8th century CE earthquake

Seismic Effects include

  • Fallen Columns
  • Collapsed Walls
Photos of Seismic Destruction

  • CAVEAT: Some photos may be misdated
Photos of Seismic Destruction
Description Photo Reference
Plan View Drawing of Silvanus Street destruction
Figure F

Segment of the remains near the southeast end of Silvanus Street, showing the collapsed shops and arcade after the earthquake of 749 C.E. (after Foerster and Tsafrir, ESI 11 [1992], fig. 45)

  1. Silvanus Street (only the central line of stone is marked on the plan)
  2. Facade and arcade of the Umayyad shops as collapsed in the earthquake of 749 C.E
  3. Later Umayyad building and installations
  4. Facade of the Umayyad shops, built on top of the Roman decorative pool
  5. Umayyad shops
  6. Stylobate and line of the Roman colonnade, later blocked by the rear wall of the Umayyad shops
  7. A lane crossing the Umayyad bazaar
  8. Opus sectile segment of the promenade around the Roman pool
  9. Umayyad portico built along the rear side of the shops
  10. A base in the line of columns and piers of the Byzantine Silvanus Hall


Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Junction of Valley Street and Silvanus Street
Figure 4

The junction of Valley Street (right), Silvanus Street (bottom left), and the street leading to the temple (top). The podium of the Central Monument is on the left, looking west.

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Valley Street and the central monument
Figure 5

Valley Street and the Central Monument, looking southwest. Note the mosaic pavements of the portico on the north side of the street.

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Main junction of Valley Street and Silvanus Street
Figure 6

The main junction of Valley Street (center), Southern Street (later Silvanus Street) (right), and the street leading to the temple (left) in front of the Central Monument (bottom), looking northeast

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
City Center
Figure 7

The city center of Scythopolis, looking west, showing the slopes of the tell, Palladius Street, and the western bathhouse (top,from right to left). The Roman portico is in the center, with the decorative pool and street (later Silvanus Street) on its right and the eastern bathhouse on its left.

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
City Center (closer view)
Figure 8

The city center, looking southeast, showing Palladius Street (bottom right); Northern Street (bottom left); the temple, nymphaeum, and Central Monument (center); Valley Street (center left); the basilica and part of the Byzantine agora (center right); and the Roman portico and Silvanus Street (top)

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Slopes of the tell
Figure 9

Looking north toward the slopes of the tell, showing the propylon and the stairway (top), Northern Street (center), and the colonnade of the Roman temenos(?) (bottom)

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Monument of Antonius
Figure 10

The podium of the Monument of Antonius, looking north

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Nymphaneum - damaged in 363 but photo includes 749 collapse
Figure 11

The nymphaeum after the removal of the collapsed architectural members of the facade, looking southwest

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Nymphaneum - damaged in 363 but photo includes 749 collapse
Figure 30

Byzantine building abutting the Roman colonnade opposite the nymphaeum, looking southwest. The Byzantine foundations are lower than those of the former Roman portico. Note the early Islamic provisional walls in front of the nymphaeum.

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Front of Nymphaneum - Rubble from 749 Quake
Figure 12

Rubble from the earthquake of 749 C.E. in front of the nymphaeum, looking west

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
fallen superstructure of nymphaeum due to 749
Figure 13

Architectural members of the superstructure of the nymphaeum as they fell in the earthquake of 749 C.E., looking south

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Roman portico after reconstruction
Figure 14

The Roman portico after reconstruction, the decorative pool, and Silvanus Street during clearance of the rubble from the earthquake of 749 C.E., looking west. In the center are the Central Monument and the Monument of Antonius.

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Palladius Street
Figure 15

Palladius Street (center) and the stairway of the Roman temple, with the two monolithic columns as collapsed in the earthquake of 749 C.E. (bottom left), looking southwest

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Palladius Street and sigma
Figure 23

Palladius Street and the sigma, looking southwest. At the top are the theater and the western bathhouse, and at the bottom are the temple and the nymphaeum.

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Palladius Street and the sigma
Figure 28

The sigma and Palladius Street, looking east. Note the area of the Byzantine agora southeast of the street (center).

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Byzantine agora
Figure 31

The walls, stylobate, and oil-shale pavement of the Byzantine agora, looking north, On the right is the apse of the Roman basilica

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Roman colonnade/Silvanus Street
Figure 32

The Roman colonnade after reconstruction, looking southeast. Lining it on the northeast are the Roman decorative pool (partially excavated) and Silvanus Street. The rubble for the earthquake of 749 CE and the Umayyad shops are preserved in the southeast (top).

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Silvanus Street
Figure 33

Silvanus Street, the colonnade of the Roman portico, the decorative pool, and the partially reconstructed Umayyad shops, looking southwest

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Roman colonnade
Figure 34

The Roman colonnade and the northeast wing of the eastern bathhouse (bottom), looking northeast. Between them are three columns of Silvanus Hall.

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Collapsed Columns on Valley Street
Figure 48

Columns collapsed on Valley Street in the earthquake of 749 C.E., looking southwest. Note the Umayyad walls that narrowed the street before the earthquake and the Abbasid building on top of the collapse (top right).

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Umayyad pottery kiln - folded pavement and slumped wall
Figure 52

Umayyad pottery kiln installed on a mosaic floor of a Byzantine shop, south of Palladius Street

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Collapsed facade of Umayyad shops on Silvanus Street
Figure 54

Silvanus Street during excavation and reconstruction, looking north. Note the collapse of the facade of the Umayyad shops and the arcade on the street

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Rear wall of Umayyad shops on Silvanus Street
Figure 55

The rear wall of the Umayyad shops, blocking the Roman colonnade along Silvanus Street, looking northwest

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Sunken pavement on Silvanus Street
Figure 56

Succession of layers near the southeast end of Silvanus Street, looking southeast. The lower courses of the facade of the Umayyad shops can be seen cutting the mosaic pavement of the earlier Silvanus Hall. The mosaic was laid on top of the rather loose soil and ashes with which the Roman pool had been filled, and which later sunk along with the mosaic. The steps on the edge of the pool are seen on the far end of the pool (top); their shape can also be discerned on the northeast (left) through the margins of the mosaic that remained on their original level.

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Collapsed arcade of portico on Silvanus Street
Figure 57

Silvanus Street, the partially reconstructed facade of the Umayyad shops, and the arcade of the portico as collapsed in the earthquake of 749 C.E., looking northwest

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Umayyad coin hoard from Silvanus Street
Figure 58

Umayyad gold dinars found in a shop near Silvanus Street, buried under the collapse of 749 C.E.

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Silvanus Street during the removal of the rubble
rom the earthquake of 749 C.E.
Figure 59

Silvanus Street during the removal of the rubble from the earthquake of 749 C.E., showing remains of the later line of Umayyad shops on the northwest side (left), looking southeast, and pedestals of the Roman colonnade before the anastylosis (right)

Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Tsafrir and Foester (1997)
Fallen Columns near Nymphaneum (?)
Figure 10

‘The deafening roar of devastation’: fallen columns at the crossroads of Baysan; note the impact of the column on the street paving (Walmsley).

Walmsley (2007)
Walmsley (2007)
Pre and Post 749 levels at Valley Street
Figure 4.10

Post-749 buildings at Baysān located above the earthquake destruction level of Valley Street (Fig. 4.4 [20]); the underlying destruction level can be seen on the left (Alan Walmsley).

Blanke and Walmsley (2022)
Blanke and Walmsley (2022)

Intensity Estimates
363 CE earthquake

Effect Description Intensity
Displaced Walls Collapse of the roof of the odeum suggests displaced walls VII+
The archeoseismic evidence requires a minimum Intensity of VII (7) when using the Earthquake Archeological Effects chart of Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224).

End 6th to 2nd half of the 7th century CE earthquake

Effect Description Reference Intensity
Fallen Columns Destruction of Silvanus Hall all the columns in the southwest part of the hall were found collapsed in the same direction
It seems likely that the same earthquake caused the collapse of the columns of Palladius Street 		Tsafrir and Foester (1997:143-144) V+
Fallen Columns It seems likely that the same earthquake caused the collapse of the porticoes of the Byzantine agora
It seems likely that the same earthquake caused the collapse of the portico of the sigma 		Tsafrir and Foester (1997:143-144) V+
The archeoseismic evidence requires a minimum Intensity of V (5) when using the Earthquake Archeological Effects chart of Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224) but Intensity was probably higher - VI (6) or VII (7).

mid 8th century CE earthquake

Effect Description Intensity
Collapsed Walls VIII+
Fallen Columns V+
The archeoseismic evidence requires a minimum Intensity of VIII (8) when using the Earthquake Archeological Effects chart of Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224).

Notes and Further Reading
References

Books and Articles

Atrash W. 2003. The Scaenae Frons of the Roman Theatre in Scythopolis (Beth Shean) Architectural Analysis and Suggested Reconstruction. M.A. thesis, University of Haifa. (Hebrew).

Blanke, L. and A. Walmsley (2022). Resilient cities: Renewal after disaster in three late antique towns of the East Mediterranean. Remembering and Forgetting the Ancient City, Oxbow Books: 69-109.

Fitzgerald, G. M. (1931). Beth-shan Excavations, 1921-1923: The Arab and Byzantine Levels, University Press.

Foerster G. and Tsafrir Y. 1988. The Center of Ancient Beth-Shean (North). Hadashot Arkheologiyot 91:15-32 (Hebrew).

Foerster, G. and Y. Tsafrir (1988). "Bet Shean Archaeological Project: B. Center of Ancient Bet Shean—North." Excavations and Surveys in Israel 6: 1987-1988. 32-5; 7-8,22. - For the new discoveries and the hoard, see ibid., 9, 1990, 126-8.

Foerster G. and Tsafrir Y. 1992a. The Town Center (North). Hadashot Arkheologiyot 98:2-30 (Hebrew).

Foerster G. and Tsafrir Y. 1992b. The Dating of the Earthquake of the `Sabbatical Year' of 749 CE in Palestine. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 55:231-248.

Y. Tsafrir & G. Foerster 1994, "From Scythopolis to Baysin—Changing Concepts of Urbanism", in G. R. D. King & A. Cameron (eds.), The Bytantine and Early Islamic Near East II. Land Use and Settlement Patterns, Studies in Late Antiquity and Early Islam, Princeton, pp. 95-115.

Tsafrir, Y. and G. Foerster (1997). "Urbanism at Scythopolis-Bet Shean in the Fourth to Seventh Centuries." Dumbarton Oaks Papers 51: 85-146.

Tsafrir, Y., et al. (1997). Urbanism at Scythopolis: Bet Shean in the Fourth to Seventh Centuries, Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection.



Excavation Reports

A. Rowe, The History and Topography of Beth Shan 1, Philadelphia 1930

A. Rowe, The Four Canaanite Temples of Beth Shan 2/1, Philadelphia 1940

A. Rowe, The Four Canaanite Temples of Beth Shan Volume II Part 1, Philadelphia 1940 - open access at archive.org

G. M. FitzGerald, The Four Canaanite Temples of Beth Shan: The Pottery 2/2, Philadelphia 1930

G. M. FitzGerald, Beth Shan Excavations 1921-1923: The Arab and Byzantine Levels 3, Philadelphia 1931

G. M. FitzGerald, A Sixth-Century Monastery at Beth Shan 4, Philadelphia 1939; id., Museum Journal 24 (1935), 5-32 - can be borrowed with a free archive.org account

F. W. James, The Iron Age at Beth Shan, Philadelphia 1966

E. D. Oren, The Northern Cemetery of Beth Shan, Leiden 1973

Y. Yadin and S. Geva, Investigations at Beth Shean: The Early Iron Age Strata (Qedem 23), Jerusalem 1986.

Mazar, A. 2006. Excavations at Tel Beth-Shean 1989 -1996, Volume I. From the Late Bronze Age IIB to the Medieval Period. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Mazor G. and Najjar A. 2007. Bet She'an I: Nysa-Scythopolis: The Caesareum and the Odeum. (IAA Reports 33). Jerusalem.

Mazor G. and Najjar A. 2007. Bet She’an I: Nysa-Scythopolis: The Caesareum and the Odeum.(IAA Reports 33). Jerusalem.

Bar-Nathan R, Atrash W. 2011. Bet She’an II, Baysan: the theater pottery workshop. Jerusalem: IAA Reports.



Websites

Amihai Mazar's page at academia.edu

Beit She’an (Scythopolis) on BibleWalks.com

Beth Shean After Antiquity

Bibliography of Beth-Shean from Stern et. al. (1993)

Topography and History

Robinson, Biblical Researches 3, 174-176

Conder-Kitchener SWP 2, 83, 101- 114

Abel, GP 1, 980-981.

Main Publications

A. Rowe, The History and Topography of Beth Shan 1, Philadelphia 1930; id., The Four Canaanite Temples of Beth Shan 2/1, Philadelphia 1940

G. M. FitzGerald, The Four Canaanite Temples of Beth Shan: The Pottery 2/2, Philadelphia 1930; id., Beth Shan Excavations 1921-1923: The Arab and Byzantine Levels 3, Philadelphia 1931; id., A Sixth-Century Monastery at Beth Shan 4, Philadelphia 1939; id., Museum Journal 24 (1935), 5-32

F. W. James, The Iron Age at Beth Shan, Philadelphia 1966

E. D. Oren, The Northern Cemetery of Beth Shan, Leiden 1973

Y. Yadin and S. Geva, Investigations at Beth Shean: The Early Iron Age Strata (Qedem 23), Jerusalem 1986.

Other Studies

G. J. H. Ovenden, PEQ 55 (1923), 147-149

S. A. Cook, ibid. 58 (1926), 29-30

G. M. FitzGerald, ibid. 59 (1927), 150-154; 63 (1931), 59-70; 64 (1932), 138-148; 66 (1934), 132-134; 72 (1940), 81; id., Museum Journal 24 (1935), 5-22

A. Rowe, PEQ 59 (1927), 67-84, 148-149; 60 (1928), 73-90; 61 (1929), 78-94; (with L. H. Vincent), 63 (1931), 12-21

W. F. Albright, AASOR 17 (1938), 76-79

G. E. Wright, AJA 44 (1941), 483-485

H. 0. Thompson, Mekal: The God of Beth-Shan, Leiden 1970

E. D. Oren, ZDPV87 (1971), 109-139; id., Journal of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities 14 (1984), 49

F. W. James, Expedition 16/3 (1974), 31-39; id., Archaeology in the Levant (K. M. Kenyon Fest.), Warminster 1978, 102-115; id., ADAJ27 (1983), 644-645

S. Geva, IEJ29(1979), 6-lO;id.,Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society of Columbia University 12 (1980), 45-49

M. Ottosson, Temples and Cult Places in Palestine (Uppsala Studies in Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Civilizations 12), Uppsala 1980

T. Dothan, The Philistines and Their Material Culture, Jerusalem 1983, 268-279

Y. Yadin, ES/3 (1984), 8-10; id., IEJ34(1984), 187-189

Y. Garfinkel, ibid. 37 (1987), 224-228

E. Braun, PEQ 121 (1989), 1-43

S. Wimmer, Jahrbuch des Deutschen Evangelischen Institutsfu'r Altertumswissenschaft des Heiligen Landes 1 (1989) 40-44; id., Studies in Egyptology Presented to Miriam Lichtheim, Jerusalem 1990, 1065-1106

M. Burdajewicz, The Aegean Sea Peoples and Religious Architecture in the Eastern Mediterranean at the Close of the Late Bronze Age (BARjlS 558), Oxford 1990, 54-57

P. E. McGovern, Expedition 32 (1990), 16-23

A. Mazar, 2nd International Congress on Biblical Archaeology, 24 June-4 July 1990: Abstracts, Jerusalem 1990, 150-151; MdB 66 (1990), 3-17

R. Salinger, The Digging Stick 7/3 (1990), 3-4

0. Negbi, TA 18 (1991), 205-243.

Egyptian sources and inscriptions

J. Simons, Handbook for the Study of Egyptian Topographical Lists, Leiden 1937, index s.v.

J. B. Pritchard, ANET, index s.v.

J. Cerny, El, 72*-82*.

Bibliography of Beth-Shean at the Foot of the Mound from Stern et. al. (1993)

Topography and History

M. Avi-Yonah, IEJ 12 (1962), 123-134

B. A. Isaac and I. Roll, Roman Roads in Judaea 1: The Legio-Scythopolis Road(BAR/IS 141), Oxford 1982

J. T. Raynor, "Social and Cultural Relationships in Scythopolis-Beth Shean in the Roman and Byzantine Periods" (Ph.D. diss., Duke Univ. 1982; Ann Arbor 1984).

Civic center in the Roman-Byzantine period

S. Yeivin, AJA 59 (1955), 165-166

N. Zori, PEQ 90 (1958), 50-51; 99 (1967), 101-103; id., RB 67 (1960), 400-401

M. Peleg, ES/2 (1983), 13-14; 3 (1984), II

J. F Desclaux, MdB 5! (1987), 50-53; ESI 6 (1987-1988)

G. Foerster andY. Tsafrir, ibid., 7-8 (1988-1989), 15-22

G. Mazor, ESI 7-8 (1988-1989), 22-32

R. Arav, LA 39 (1989), 189-197

A. Tsafrir and G. Foerster, ESI 9 (1989-1990), 120-128

Y. Tsafrir et al., BAR 16/4 (1990), 16-31; MdB 66 (1990), 18-39.

Roman theater

S. Applebaum, ILN 6450 (March 16, 1963), 380-383; id., Scripta Classica Israelica 4 (1978), 77-97, 139-140

A. Ovadiah and C. Gomez de Silva, ibid. 6 (1981-1982), 85-97

H. Plommer, Levant 15 (1983), 132-140

G. Mazor, ESI6(1987-1988), 19-22; 7-8 (1988-1989), 28-29;id. (and R. BarNathan), MdB 66 (1990), 22-28

A. Segal, Scripta Classica Israelica 8-9 (1985-1988), 145-165.

Amphitheater

G. Foerster and Y. Tsafrir, Recherches Archiologiques en Israel, 224-226; id., ESI 6 (1987- 1988), 35-38; id., MdB 66 (1990), 29-39.

Inscriptions

G. M. FitzGerald, PEQ 59(1927), 150-154

F. C. Burkitt, ibid., 154

M. Avi-Yonah, QDAP8 (1938), 57-61; 10 (1942), 165-169

H. C. Youtie-Bonner, Transactions of the American Philological Society 58(1968),47-78

B. Lifshitz, ZDPV77 (1961), 186-190; id., Euphrosynen.s. 6(1973-1974),27-29; id., Aufstieg und Niedergang der Rbinischen Welt 2/8, Berlin 1977, 273-277

H. Seyrig, Syria 39 (1962), 207-211

J. Naveh, IEJ31 (1981), 220-222

G. Foerster and Y. Tsafrir,Israel Numismatic Journal 9(1986- 1987), 53-58

Y. Tsafrir, IEJ 39 (1989), 76-78.

Coins

G. F. Hill, BMCXXXIVf., 75-77

S. Ben Dor, PEQ 76 (1944), 152-156

N. Zori, ibid. 77 (1945), 47-48; 92 (1960), 70

Y. Meshorer, IEJ25 (1975), 142-143; 27 (1977), 40-41

R. Bland, Israel Numismatic Journal 5 (1981), 52-56

G. Foerster andY. Tsafrir, Israel Numismatic Journal9 (1986-1987), 53-58

H. Giller, Swiss Numismatic Revue 70 (1991), 23-29.

Hellenistic and Roman sculpture

H. Thiersch, Nachrichten von der Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Gottingen Philologisch-historische Klasse 1/9 (1932), 52-76

F. Vitto, Temples and High Places in Biblical Times, Jerusalem 1977, 39; 1981, 164-167; id., IEJ 30 (1980), 214; id., RB 88 (1981), 587; id., BAlAS 1 (1982), 11-14

I. Skupinska-Lovset, RB 85 (1978), 62-66; id., MASCA Journal 1 (1979), 76-77

S. Applebaum, Israel Museum Journal, 5 (1986), 105

R. A. Gergel, AJA 92 (1988), 271.

The synagogue

N. Tzori, IEJ 16 (1966), 123-124; 27 (1977), 125-126

D. Bahat and A. Druks, RB 78 (1971), 585-586

D. Bahat, ASR, 82-85

B. Lifshitz, Euphrosyne n.s. 6 (1973-1974), 27-29

M. I. Chiat, Journal of Jewish Art 7 (1980), 6-24

L. Roussin, Journal of Jewish Art 8 (1981), 6-19

F. Vitto, Temples and High Places in Biblical Times, Jerusalem 1981, 164-167

G. Foerster, Praktika [Acts of the Academy of Athens] 1983/A (1985), 130-133.

Tel Naharon and Tell Istaba

Tel Naharon (q.v.)

G. M. FitzGerald, A Sixth-Century Monastery at Beth Shan, Philadelphia 1939

Y. Landau and V. Tsaferis, IEJ 29 (1979), 152-159

D. T. Ariel, ibid. 38 (1988), 30-35.

Roman tombs

B. A. Isaac and I. Roll, Roman Roads in Judaea 1: The Legio-Scythopolis Road (BAR/IS 141 ), Oxford 1982.

Bibliography of Beth-Shean and the Foot of the Mound from Stern et. al. (2008)

Main Publications

F. W. James & P. E. McGovern, The Late Bronze Egyptian Garrison at Beth Shan: A Study of Levels VII and VIII (University of Pennsylvania Museum Monographs 85), 1–2, Philadelphia 1993. (Reviews) LA 44 (1994), 715–716. — BASOR 297 (1995), 88–89. — AJA 100 (1996), 787–788. — JEA 82 (1996), 226–227. — Orientalia 65 (1996), 33–35. — JAOS 117 (1997), 715–719. — PEQ 130 (1998), 79–80. — JNES 58 (1999), 127–128

R. A. Mullins, Beth Shean during the Eighteenth Dynasty: From Canaanite Settlement to Egyptian Garrison, 1–2 (Ph.D. diss.), Jerusalem 2002

N.Yahalom, Metal Objects from the 15th–11th Centuries bce at Tel Beth Shean: Further Evidence for Continuity from the Late Bronze Age to the Iron Age I (M.A. thesis), Jerusalem 2002 (Eng. abstract)

E. Braun, Early Beth Shan (Strata XIX–XIII): G. M. FitzGerald’s Deep Cut on the Tell (University Museum Monograph 121), Philadelphia 2004; ibid. (Review) Levant 37 (2005), 236

A. Mazar et al., Excavations at Tel Beth Shean 1989–1996, I: From the Late Bronze Age IIB to the Medieval Period (The Beth-Shean Valley Archaeological Project Publications 1), Jerusalem.

Studies

A. Mazar, EI 21 (1991), 108*; 24 (1993), 236*; 26 (1999), 231*; id., ESI 10 (1991), 5–9; 11 (1993), 53–55; 14 (1994), 56–60; 17 (1998), 7–35; 18 (1998), 43–46; id., BA 56 (1993), 137–139; 60 (1997), 62–76; id., BAT II, Jerusalem 1993, 606–619; id., IEJ 43 (1993), 201–229; id., AJA 98 (1994), 485, 488–489, 493, 498; 100 (1996), 731–732; id., The Archaeology of Israel, Sheffield 1997, 144–164; id., Levant 29 (1997), 157–167; id., OEANE, 1, New York 1997, 305–309; id. (et al.), Ceramics and Change, Sheffield 2000, 255– 278; id., International Radiocarbon Conference, 17, Judean Hills, Israel, 18–23.7.2000, Abstracts, Tel Aviv 2000, 81; id., Radiocarbon 43 (2001), 1333–1342; id., Studies in the Archaeology of the Iron Age in Israel and Jordan, Sheffield 2001, 289–309; id., Synchronisation, Wien 2003, 323–339; id., ICAANE, 3, Paris 2002 (in prep.); R. A. Mullins, Archaeology in the Biblical World 1/2 (1991), 5–7; id., 23rd Archaeological Conference in Israel, Jerusalem, 16–17.4.1997 (Abstracts of the Lectures), Jerusalem 1997, 1; id., ASOR Newsletter, 48/1 (1998), 22; 50/1 (2000), 10–11; 52/3 (2002), 12–13; id., ICAANE, 2 (in prep.)

P. E. McGovern, ABD, 1, New York 1992, 693–696; id. (et al.), BASOR 290–291 (1993), 1–27; id., Fradybet (J. Strange Fest.; Forum for Bibelsk Eksegese 5; eds. N. P. Lemche & M. Müller), Copenhagen 1994, 144–156

O. Shamir, Archaeological Textiles Newsletter 14 (1992), 4

S. Wimmer, Atti del VI Congresso Internazionale di Egittologia, Torino 1992, 571–578; id., BN 73 (1994), 36–41; id., Jerusalem Studies in Egyptology, Wiesbaden 1998, 87–123; id., Journal of Palestinian Archaeology 1/2 (2000), 32–35

P. Daviau, Houses, Sheffield 1993, 299–312, 422–429, 466–467

J. Poulin, MdB 85 (1993), 42

C. R. Higginbotham, ASOR Newsletter, 44/2, n.p.; id., TA 26 (1999), 225–232

I. Finkelstein, ibid. 23 (1996), 170–184; id. (& E. Piasetzky), Antiquity 77/298 (2003), 771–779

W. Horowitz, IEJ 46 (1996), 208–217; id., BA 60 (1997), 97–100; id. (et al.), JAOS 122 (2002), 756

L. Nigro, Contributi e materiali di archeologia orientale 6 (1996), 1–69

E. J. Van der Steen, BASOR 302 (1996), 51–74

S. R. Wolff, AJA 100 (1996), 738, 744

E. Yannai, TA 23 (1996), 185–194

A. M. Maeir, The Material Culture of the Central Jordan Valley during the Middle Bronze II Period: Pottery and Settlement Pattern, 1–2 (Ph.D. diss.), Jerusalem 1997; id., ‘Atiqot 39 (2000), 31–42; id., PEQ 132 (2000), 37–58; id., ASOR Annual Meeting Abstract Book, Boulder, CO 2001, 3–4

M. Manor & R. Rabinovich, ArchaeoZoologia 8 (1997), 89–104

A. Cohen-Weinberger, Mediterranean Peoples in Transition, Jerusalem 1998, 406–412; Expedition 40/3 (1998), 34–35

A. E. Killebrew, Ceramic Craft and Technology during the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages (Ph.D. diss.), Jerusalem 1998; id., Archaeology, History and Culture in Palestine, Atlanta, GA 1999, 83–126; id., Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites 3/1–2 (1999), 17–32; id., ASOR Annual Meeting Abstract Book, Boulder, CO 2001, 4; id., Egypt, Israel, and the Ancient Mediterranean World (D. B. Redford Fest.; Probleme de Ägyptologie 20; eds. G. N. Knoppers & A. Hirsch), Leiden 2004, 309–344

O. Negbi, TA 25 (1998), 184–207; R. M. Porter, Proceedings of the 7th International Congress of Egyptologists, Cambridge, 3–9.9.1995, Leuven 1998, 903–910

A. F. Rainey, IEJ 48 (1998), 239–251; D. Sweeney, ibid., 38–53

R. V. Bankirer, Mitekufat Ha’even 29 (1999), 129–134

Y. Garfinkel, Neolithic and Chalcolithic Pottery of the Southern Levant (Qedem 39), Jerusalem 1999, 153–188

M. Bietak & K. Kopetzky, Synchronisation, Wien 2000, 101–102

P. Brand, The Monuments of Seti I: Epigraphic, Historical and Art Historical Analysis (Probleme der Ägyptologie 16), Leiden 2000, 124–125

D. Bar-Yosef, ASOR Annual Meeting Abstract Book, Boulder, CO 2001, 1

A. Ziv-Esudri, ibid., 3; S. Givon, JSRS 11 (2002), ix

E. A. Knauf, BN 112 (2002), 21–27

H. Richter, Die Phönizischen Anthropoiden Sarkophage, 2: Tradition, Rezeption, Wander (Forschungen zur Phönizisch-Punischen und Zyprischen Plastik I/2; ed. S. Frede), Mainz 2002, 243–271

R. Greenberg, JMA 16 (2003), 17–32

O. Goldwasser & A. Mazar, Ägypten und Levante 12 (2002), 191–193

H. M. Niemann, UF 35 (2003), 421–485 (435–439)

K. Szpakowska, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 40 (2003), 113–122

G. Davies, Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions, 2: Corpus and Concordance, Cambridge 2004, 19–20

Y. Goren et al., Inscribed in Clay, Tel Aviv 2004, 256–259

M. A. S. Martin, Ägypten und Levante 14 (2004), 265–284; id., Aspects of the Egyptian Involvement in Late Bronze and Early Iron Age Canaan: The Egyptian and Egyptian-Style Pottery—A Case Study, 1–2 (Ph.D. diss.), Wien 2005

S. Sherratt & A. Mazar, The Philistines and Other Sea Peoples (eds. A. Killebrew & G. Lehmann), Winona Lake, IN (in prep.).

Main Publications at the Foot of the Mound

J. T. Raynor, Social Relationships in Scythopolis/Beth-Shean in the Roman and Byzantine Periods (Ph.D. diss., Duke University, 1982), Ann Arbor, MI 1991

The Bet Shean Excavation Project (1989–1991) (ESI 11), Jerusalem 1993

A. Ovadiah & Y. Turnheim, “Peopled” Scrolls in Roman Architectural Decoration in Israel: The Roman Theatre at Beth Shean/Scythopolis (Rivista di Archeologia Suppl. 12), Roma 1994; ibid. (Reviews) AJA 100 (1996), 436–437. — L’Antiquite classique 65 (1996), 585–586. — Mesopotamia 31 (1996), 288–289. — JRA 10 (1997), 557–560

R. Barkay, The Greek Imperial Coinage of Beth-Shean (Nysa-Scythopolis), 1–2 (Ph.D. diss.), Jerusalem 1995 (Eng. abstract); id., The Coinage of Nysa-Scythopolis (Beth-Shean) (Corpus Nummorum Palaestinensium 5; Publications of The Israel Numismatic Society), Jerusalem 2003; ibid. (Review) SCI 23 (2004), 324–325

S. Hadad, Glass Vessels from the Umayyad through Mamluk Periods at Bet Shean (7th–14th Centuries C.E.), 1–2 (Ph.D. diss.), Jerusalem 1998 (Eng. abstract); id., The Oil Lamps from the Hebrew University Excavations at Bet Shean (Excavations at Bet Shean 1; Qedem Reports 4), Jerusalem 2002; id., Islamic Glass Vessels from the Hebrew University Excavations at Bet Shean (Excavations at Bet Shean 2; Qedem Reports 8), Jerusalem 2005

W. Atrash, The Scaenae Frons of the Roman Theatre in Scythopolis (Bet Shean): Architectural Analysis and Suggested Reconstruction (M.A. thesis), Haifa 2003 (Eng. Abstract)

H. Abu ‘Uqsa, Bet-She’an in the Early Islamic Period I–II (661–969 ce) as Reflected in the Ceramic Assemblages from the “Tourist Center” Excavations (M.A. thesis), Haifa 2005 (Heb.).

Studies at the Foot of the Mound

BAR 16/4 (1990), 16–31

G. Foerster & Y. Tsafrir, Aram 4 (1992), 117–138; id., Gadara-Gerasa und die Dekapolis (Antike Welt Sonderbände: Zaberns Bildbände zur Archäologie; eds. A. Hoffmann & S. Kerner), Mainz am Rhein 2002, 72–87

G. Foerster, BA 56 (1993), 143–144; id., BAT II, Jerusalem 1993, 147–152; id., JRA 10 (1997), 557–560; id., Mythes et Cultes (Lilly Kahil Fest.; Bulletin de correspondance hellenique suppl. 38), Athens 2000, 135–141; MdB 75 (1992), 28–29

Y. Tsafrir & G. Foerster, The Byzantine and Early Islamic Near East, 1 (Studies in Late Antiquity and Early Islam 1; eds. A. Cameron & L. I. Lawrence), Princeton, NJ 1992, 95–117; ibid. 2 (Studies in Late Antiquity and Early Islam 2; eds. G. R. D. King & A. Cameron), Princeton, NJ 1993, 371–375; id., Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 55 (1992), 231–235; id., Cathedra 64 (1992), 183; id., DOP 51 (1997), 85–146; Y. Tsafrir, BA 56 (1993), 142–143; id., Retrieving the Past, Winona Lake, IN 1996, 269–283; id., Religious and Ethnic Communities in Later Roman Palestine (ed. H. Lapin), Bethesda, MD 1998, 197–218

R. Barkay, Proceedings of the 11th International Numismatic Congress, 1993, 371–375; id., INJ 13 (1994–1999), 54– 62; id., Dionysos: origines et resurgenes (Librairie Philosophique J. Vrin, Sorbonne; ed. I. Zinguer), Paris 2001, 29–32

R. Last & P. Porat, Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 95 (1993), 52–64

M. Lubash, Archeo 8 (1993), 122–124

J. Poulin, MdB 81 (1993), 42–43

L. Y. Rahmani, ‘Atiqot 22 (1993), 109–119; id., Israel Museum Studies in Archaeology 2 (2003), 33–64

J. -P. Sodini, DOP 47 (1993), 139–184

N. Amitai-Preiss (et al.), INJ 13 (1994–1999), 133–151; 14 (2000–2002), 224–238

J. Binns, The Monasteries of Palestine, 314–631 (Oxford Early Christian Studies), Oxford 1994

P. Bugod, Xantener Berichte 5: Grabung-Forschung-Präsentation, Köln 1994, 41–48

A. Oddy, Aram 6 (1994), 405–418

A. Ovadiah & Y. Turnheim, Rivista di Archeologia 18 (1994), 105–115; 27 (2003–2004), 111–118; id., Art and Archaeology in Israel and Neighbouring Countries, London 2002, 203–226

M. Peleg, ‘Atiqot 25 (1994), 139–155; 46 (2004), 55*–81*

Y. Turnheim & A. Ovadiah, Cathedra 71 (1994), 198

R. Wenning, ZDPV 110 (1994), 1–35; G. Mazor (& R. Bar-Nathan), Michmanim 8 (1995), 13*–15*; 13 (1999), 77*–78*; id. (& R. BarNathan), ESI 17 (1998), 1–36; id., Roman Bath and Bathing (JRA Suppl. 37; eds. J. De Laine & D. E. Johnston), Portsmouth RI 1999, 292–302; id., Free Standing City Gates in the Eastern Provinces during the Roman Imperial Period (Ph.D. diss.), Ramat-Gan 2004 (Eng. abstract); id., www.antiquities.org.il, Articles

A. Segal, Theatres in Roman Palestine and Provincia Arabia (Mneomosyne Suppl. 140), Leiden 1995

B. Andre-Salvini, MdB 99 (1996), 36–37

M. L. Bates & F. L. Kovacs, The Numismatic Chronicle 156 (1996), 165–173

A. Berman, ESI 15 (1996), 47; 17 (1998), 35–36

L. Di Segni, EI 25 (1996), 101*; id., Dated Greek Inscriptions from Palestine from the Roman and Byzantine Periods (Ph.D. diss.), 1–2, Jerusalem 1997; id., SCI 16 (1997), 139–161; id., Atti del XI Congresso Internazionale di Epigrafia Greca e Latina, Roma, 18–24.9.1997, Roma 1999, 625–642; id. (et al.), The Roman and Byzantine Near East 2, Portsmouth, RI 1999, 59–75

S. J. Fleming, Expedition 38 (1996), 13–38

R. Gersht, Classical Studies (D. Sohlberg Fest.; ed. R. Katzoff), Ramat-Gan 1996, 433–450

J. Seligman, ESI 15 (1996), 43–47

A. G. Walmsley, Towns in Transition: Urban Evolution in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages (eds. N. Christie & S. T. Loseby), Aldershot 1996, 126–158

D. Avshalom-Gorni, ESI 16 (1997), 70–72; 19 (1997), 29*–30*; id., ‘Atiqot 39 (2000), 198–200; 46 (2004), 134*–135* (& A. Berman)

D. Barshad, ESI 19 (1997), 31*

J. M. C. Bowsher, Levant 29 (1997), 227–246

S. Hadad, DOP 51 (1997), 147–188; id., Journal of Glass Studies 39 (1997), 198–200; 40 (1998), 63–76; 44 (2002), 35–48; id. (& E. Khamis), IEJ 48 (1998), 66–76; id., Levant 31 (1999), 203–224; 34 (2002), 151–158; id., BASOR 317 (2000), 63–73; id., Levant 34 (2002), 151–158

E. Khamis, Cathedra 85 (1997), 188; id., Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 64 (2001), 159– 176; id., Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 3rd Series/12 (2002), 143–154

R. Sivan, The Conservation of Archaeological Sites in the Mediterranean Region (ed. M. de la Torre), Los Angeles 1997

M. L. Fischer, Marble Studies, Konstanz 1998; H. Goldfus, Tombs and Burials in Churches and Monasteries of Byzantine Palestine (324–628 A.D.), 1–2 (Ph.D. diss.), Ann Arbor, MI 1998, 216–229

R. Hachlili, PEQ 130 (1998), 106–120

R. Rosenthal-Heginbottom, Dionysos and His Retinue in the Art of Eretz-Israel (Reuben & Edith Hecht Museum Catalogue 14), Haifa 1998

Z. Safrai, The Missing Century: Palestine in the 5th Century— Growth and Decline (Palestine Antiqua N.S. 9), Leuven 1998, (index)

N. Yaari, Journal of Mediterranean Studies 8 (1998), 73–83; Archaeology 52/2 (1999), 28

W. Eck & G. Foerster, JRA 12 (1999), 294–313

J. M. Nieto Ibanez, IEJ 49 (1999), 260–268

M. J. Ponting, JAS 26 (1999), 1311–1321; id., Archaeological Sciences 1999: Proceedings of the Archaeological Sciences Conference, University of Bristol 1999 (BAR/IS 1111; ed. K. A. Robson Brown), Oxford 2003, 111–116

V. Shalev, Historical Context, Structure and Function in the Churches of Palestine in Late Antiquity (Ph.D. diss.), Tel Aviv 1999 (Eng. abstract)

O. Sion, BAR 25/1 (1999), 18–19; id., ESI 112 (2000), 40*–42*; id., MdB 125 (2000), 65; id., LA 52 (2002), 353–366; C. Balint, Varia Archaeologica Hungarica 9 (2000), 99–162

W. Ball, Rome in the East: The Transformation of an Empire, London 2000, passim

R. M. Foote, Mediterranean Archaeology 13 (2000), 24–38

Y. GorinRosen, ‘Atiqot 39 (2000), 200; id., La route du verre (Travaux de la Maison de l’Orient Mediterraneen 33; ed. M. -D. Nenna), Lyon 2000, 49–64; id., Michmanim 16 (2002), 7*–18*

M. -O. Jentel, Mythes et Cultes (Lilly Kahil Fest.; Bulletin de correspondance hellenique suppl. 38), Athens 2000, 241–249

H. Kennedy, Bulletin d’etudes orientales 52 (2000), 199–204

A. M. Vaccaro & A. Misiani, Archeo 16/11 (189) (2000), 90–97

A. N. Shugar, Archaeometry 42 (2000), 375–384

N. Belayche, Iudaea-Palaestina: The Pagan Cults in Roman Palestine (2nd to 4th Century) (Religion der Römischen Provinzen-Religions in Roman Provinces 1), Tübingen 2001, 258–268

M. Smallwood, The Jews Under Roman Rule from Pompey to Diocletian: A Study in Political Relations, Boston 2001 (index)

J. Sudilovsky, BAR 27/3 (2001), 16

S. Agady et al., What Athens Has to Do with Jerusalem, Leuven 2002, 423–506

P. Baumann, ibid., 69–85; id., Antike Welt 34 (2003), 165–170

G. Bijovsky, American Numismatic Society Magazine 1/3 (2002), 16–20; id., Revue Numismatique 158 (2002), 161–227; id., What Athens Has to To Do with Jerusalem, Leuven 2002, 507–512

M. Cohen, ESI 114 (2002), 111*–112*

H. Fahlbusch, Cura Aquarum in Israel, Siegburg 2002, 55–63

A. Kushner-Stein, IEJ 52 (2002), 225–230

S. Laurant, MdB 140 (2002), 62–63

M. J. Versluys, Ägyptiaca Romana: Nilotic Scenes and the Roman Views of Egypt (Religions in the Graeco-Roman World 144), Leiden 2002

Z. Weiss, What Athens Has to Do with Jerusalem, Leuven 2002, 211–233

K. Covello-Paran, ESI 115 (2003), 31*–33*; A. Lichtenberger, Kulte und Kultur der Dekapolis: Untersuchungen zu numismatischen, archäologischen und epigraphischen Zeugnissen (Abhandlungen des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 29), Wiesbaden 2003; id., BAIAS 22 (2004), 23–34

D. T. Ariel, Transport Amphorae and Trade in the Eastern Mediterranean: Acts of the International Colloquium at the Danish Institute at Athens, 26–29.9.2002 (Monographs of the Danish Institute at Athens 5; eds. J. Eiring & J. Lund), Aarhus 2004, 23–30

M. Sharabani et al., ‘Atiqot 46 (2004), 83*–8

D. Syon, ESI 116 (2004), 12*–16*

A. Lewin, The Archaeology of Ancient Judea and Palestine, Los Angeles, CA 2005, 92–99.

The Fortress at the Foot of the Mound

A. J. Boas (Boaz), ESI 9 (1989–1990), 129; id., Crusader Archaeology: The Material Culture of the Latin East, London 1999

J. Seligman, ESI 15 (1996), 43–47.

Surveys
Lidar Scans

Description Scan Date Scanner Processing Link to 3D Scan Downloadable Link
  • Collapsed Store Facades on Sylvanus Street
  • due to Holy Desert Quake of the Sabbatical Year Sequence
 2 May 2023 Jefferson Williams Area ? Tilt down to see facade Right Click to download
  • Collapses in front of the Nymphaneum on Sylvanus Street
  • due to Holy Desert Quake of the Sabbatical Year Sequence
 2 May 2023 Jefferson Williams Area ? Tilt down to get a good view of the damage Right Click to download
  • Site Model from inside the Park
 2 May 2023 Jefferson Williams Area ? Tilt down to get aerial view

Photos

Description Location Image Causitive Earthquake Notes
Fallen Column Sylvanus Street Near Nymphaneum
Fallen Column on Sylvanus Street near the Nymphaneum (Bet She'an)

Photo by Jefferson Williams - 2 May 2023
Holy Desert Quake of the Sabbatical Year Sequence - January 749 CE
Fallen Architectural Elements Sylvanus Street Near Nymphaneum
Fallen Architectural Elements on Sylvanus Street near the Nymphaneum (Bet She'an)

Photo by Jefferson Williams - 2 May 2023
Holy Desert Quake of the Sabbatical Year Sequence - January 749 CE
Collapses in Front of Nymphaneum Sylvanus Street Near Nymphaneum
Fallen Architectural Elements on Sylvanus Street near the Nymphaneum (Bet She'an)

Screenshot from 3D Lidar Scan by Jefferson Williams - 2 May 2023
Holy Desert Quake of the Sabbatical Year Sequence - January 749 CE See 3D Scan
Collapsed Storefronts Sylvanus Street
Collapsed Storefronts on Sylvanus Street (Bet She'an)

Screenshot from 3D Lidar Scan by Jefferson Williams - 2 May 2023
Holy Desert Quake of the Sabbatical Year Sequence - January 749 CE See 3D Scan
Broken Corners Theater
Broken Corners in Arch of the Theater (Bet She'an)

Photo by Jefferson Williams - 2 May 2023
Undated
Deformed Arch Structure just south of the Park Entrance
Deformed Arch from a Structure just south of the Park Entrance (Bet She'an)

Photo by Jefferson Williams - 2 May 2023
Undated
Deformed Arch Axis Direction - 203° Structure just south of the Park Entrance
Measurement of Deformed Arch Axial Direction from a Structure just south of the Park Entrance (Bet She'an)

Photo by Jefferson Williams - 2 May 2023
Undated

kmz's for Site Visits
kmz's

kmz Description Reference
Right Click to download Master Bet She'an kmz file various