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For almost 20 years, Dr. James Strange of the University of South Florida has conducted a field school for both students and adults excavating a site in Galilee known as Sepphoris (Greek), Zipori (Hebrew). The history of the site may date back as far as the Late Bronze Age. According to one rabbinic text, Sepphoris was one of the cities fortified by Joshua during the conquest of Canaan. Though excavations have not revealed evidence of a city from this earliest period, excavations have revealed that Sepphoris was a walled city as early as the Hellenistic period (around 200 BCE), and it was a regional center at the crossroads of major trade routes during the Roman period.
At the death of Herod the Great, the city of Sepphoris revolted and was destroyed by the Roman Legate Varus. Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, immediately rebuilt the city as his capital of the Galilee. The Jewish historian Josephus referred to Sepphoris as the “Ornament of all Galilee.” Though not mentioned by name in the Bible, Sepphoris is mentioned in numerous historical texts. Ancient literary sources indicate that Sepphoris had an extensive aqueduct system, a theatre, temples, synagogues, churches, a cemetery, two market places, a Council Chamber, an Archive, and a Mint where it minted its own coins. Sepphoris was important in the development of both Judaism and Christianity. For Judaism, the city was a center of Jewish scholarship and intellectual life. Rabbi Judah the Prince spent the last 17 years of his life at Sepphoris and edited the Mishnah (the oral Torah) there. For Christianity, the site is vital for understanding the context of Jesus’ ministry and the parables in the gospels. Sepphoris was within easy walking distance of Nazareth, and such a massive and long-term building project would have provided much work for the family trade, workers of wood and stone.
Dr. Strange is now preparing 18 years of data for the first in a series of official publications, with the help of associate directors Professor Thomas Longstaff, Colby College-Maine, Professor Dennis Groh, Illinois Wesleyan University-Illinois, and Professor Thomas McCollough, Centre College-Kentucky. At a separate part of the site, Professors Eric and Carol Meyers of Duke University continue their excavations. The Meyers/Meyers/Strange team first excavated and published the Merion Project together prior to beginning separate excavations at the Sepphoris site.
The importance of the Sepphoris site is indicated by the number of universities conducting excavations there. The site was first excavated for one season only by University of Michigan in 1931. It has been the focus of several major universities during the past two decades: University of South Florida, Duke University, Hebrew University/University of Washington, and University of Tel Aviv. Despite number of teams working there, only a fraction of the site has been excavated to date.
Sepphoris is a major attraction for tourists today. It contains a splendid aqueduct system that can be toured from inside, and it boasts a collection of mosaics unrivaled in Israel. The important synagogue mosaic from Sepphoris is the subject of a recently released book, Promise and Redemption, by Ehud Netzer and Zeev Weiss of Hebrew University. Two more popular publications currently available are Zippori, also by Netzer/Weiss, and Sepphoris, by Meyers/Netzer/Meyers. Sepphoris was the focus of the July/August 2000 issue of the Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR) magazine, and the Synagogue Mosaic was the subject of a feature article in the September/October 2000 issue of BAR. One of the most notable discoveries from Sepphoris is the mosaic of a hauntingly beautiful but unknown woman affectionately referred to as the “Mona Lisa of the Galilee.” (Photo at top left)
University of South Florida: http://www.sepphoris.info
Hebrew University: http://www.hum.huji.ac.il/archaeology/Zippori/index.htm
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