For the Very First Time: A Residential Building from the Time of Jesus was Exposed in the Heart of Nazareth - The remains were discovered in an archaeological excavation of the Israel Antiquities Authority near the Church of the Annunciation
An archaeological excavation the Israel Antiquities Authority recently conducted has revealed new information about ancient Nazareth from the time of Jesus. Remains of a dwelling that date to the Early Roman period were discovered for the first time in an excavation, which was carried out prior to the construction of the “International Marian Center of Nazareth” by the the Association Mary of Nazareth, next to the Church of the Annunciation.
...In 1969 the Church of the Annunciation was erected in the spot that the Catholic faith identified with the house of Mary. It was built atop the remains of three earlier churches, the oldest of which is ascribed to the Byzantine period (the fourth century CE). In light of the plans to build there, the Israel Antiquities Authority recently undertook a small scale archaeological excavation close to the church, which resulted in the exposure of the structure.
According to Yardenna Alexandre, excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “The discovery is of the utmost importance since it reveals for the very first time a house from the Jewish village of Nazareth and thereby sheds light on the way of life at the time of Jesus. The building that we found is small and modest and it is most likely typical of the dwellings in Nazareth in that period. From the few written sources that there are, we know that in the first century CE Nazareth was a small Jewish village, located inside a valley. Until now a number of tombs from the time of Jesus were found in Nazareth; however, no settlement remains have been discovered that are attributed to this period”.
...Another hewn pit, whose entrance was apparently camouflaged, was excavated and a few pottery sherds from the Early Roman period were found inside it. The excavator, Yardenna Alexandre, said, “Based on other excavations that I conducted in other villages in the region, this pit was probably hewn as part of the preparations by the Jews to protect themselves during the Great Revolt against the Romans in 67 CE”.
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2 comments:
Of course, if we were excavating so close to a mosque, we would be accused of trying to undermine/destroy it.
Actually, that's what happened in 2003.
The history:
In 1187, after their defeat in the Battle of Hattin, the Christians hid in the Church of the Annunciation for fear of the Muslims, but were all massacred. Later on the city returned to Crusader hands.
The Mamelukes (Muslims but not Arabs from Egypt) conquered Nazareth in 1263, demolished all the churches and cruelly murdered all the Christian inhabitants.
At the beginning of the period, Franciscan monks settled in the ruins of the Church of the Annunciation, but were expelled by the Turks.
The Druze Emir Fachar A-Din allowed the Franciscans to purchase the ruins of the Church of the Annunciation in 1620, and then Maronite Christians from Lebanon and Greek Orthodox Christians from the Jordan East Bank began to settle in Nazareth.
In 1877, the Synagogue Church was built within the market in the older part of Nazareth. This was a Greek Orthodox church that, according to one version, was constructed on the ruins of the ancient church that was built where the ancient synagogue once stood.
The oldest mosque in Nazareth was built in 1814
By 1980 the Muslims became the majority in the city. This demographic change has caused tension between the Christians and Muslims in Nazareth.
A disagreement about the future of the Shihab E-Din precinct broke out in 1990, when the Christians objected to the Muslim plan to build a mosque on the site (Shihab E-Din was killed in a battle against the Crusaders and was buried in Nazareth). The Vatican stepped in on the side of the Christians, and the city was on the verge of a religious war. At the end, Arik Sharon, then Israel’s Prime Minister, intervened and a square was built instead.
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