Archaeologists announced follows the team’s 10th excavation season in summer 2026 that The lost New Testament city of Bethsaida is recovered.
The excavation is a joint project of Kinneret College (Israel) and partners including the Center for the Study of Ancient Judaism & Christian Origins. Official updates appear at bethsaida-julias.com. The team emphasizes that the finds do place the stories in a real, identifiable first-century Jewish fishing town on the Sea of Galilee.
They recovered a large collection of first-century artifacts, including intact Herodian oil lamps (made in Jerusalem before 70 CE), chalk stoneware typical of Jewish households, coins, fishing weights, makeup tools, a basalt grinding stone, Roman-period walls, and part of a Doric capital from a public building.
Josephus records that Herod Philip upgraded the Jewish fishing village of Bethsaida into a small Roman city and renamed it Julias. El-Araj sits right on the lakeshore, matching a fishing village, and has produced both first-century Jewish remains and later Roman urban features (including a bathhouse found in earlier seasons). A 5th-century Byzantine basilica was built there; a mosaic inscription in it calls Peter “Chief of the apostles and keeper of the keys of heaven,” and a first-century house lies directly under the church apse — consistent with an 8th-century pilgrim account that a church stood over the house of Peter and Andrew.
About Bethsaida
- Hellenistic and Roman Transformation
Around 30 CE, the local ruler Herod Philip (son of Herod the Great) upgraded the fishing village to the status of a Greco-Roman city (polis). He renamed it Bethsaida Julias in honor of the Roman Emperor Augustus’s wife (or daughter). Along with this upgrade, he introduced Roman architecture, civic institutions, and an imperial cult temple, which naturally attracted Roman officials, merchants, and Syrian-Greek Gentiles. - Geographic Location
Bethsaida was situated just east of the Jordan River, placing it outside the formal borders of Galilee and directly within the territory of Gaulonitis. This region served as a natural borderlands zone. It directly bordered heavily Gentile, Syrian, and Decapolis territories, making the city a hub for regional trade where Jews and non-Jews mingled daily. - Archaeological EvidenceExcavations at both competing sites (et-Tell and el-Araj) reflect this cultural duality:Jewish Markers: Archaeologists have uncovered numerous Jewish limestone vessels (used for biblical purity laws), 1st-century Jewish courtyard homes, and typical local fishing implements.Gentile/Roman Markers: Excavators have also uncovered a Roman-style bathhouse, Greco-Roman coins, pagan temple remains, and imported pottery, confirming a significant Hellenistic and Roman footprint
Jesus performed specific recorded miracles in the fishing village of Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee, alongside general healings. Note that Bethsaida is often confused with the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem, where Jesus healed many.
