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PHOTOS BY DAVID SILVERMAN AND YUVAL NADEL/MAGDALA CENTER EXCAVATIONS

in
the

New

Discovery

Excavation for a Galilee pilgrims’
guesthouse yields a 1st- century city.

SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

I

srael’s Galilee region is popular
with tourists, including many
Christian pilgrims who want
to see the area where Jesus lived
and taught. Now, a major new
archaeological find at Magdala,
near Migdal, a town on the coast
of the Sea of Galilee, is attract-
ing both Christians and Jews. For
Christians, Magdala has special
significance as the birthplace of
Mary Magdalene, a key follower
of Jesus, who they believe was the
first person to see him after his
resurrection.
Like many other archaeologi-

TOP: Mikvah at Magdala
Archaeological Park.
MIDDLE: The front face
of the Magdala Stone.
ABOVE: Excavation of
synagogue mosaics.
RIGHT: Mark Davidoff,
Gov. Rick Snyder and
Father Eamon Kelly.

cal discoveries in Israel, this one
came about during excavation for
a new building — in this case, a
guesthouse and spiritual complex
planned for Christian pilgrims by
the Legion of Christ, an interna-
tional Catholic organization.
As required for all major new
construction, Israel Antiquities
Authority staff members were
on site in 2009 when excavation
began and they were stunned to
find extensive remains of a 1st-
century city quite close to the
surface.
Along with archaeologists from

two Mexican universities, they
have discovered a synagogue,
mikvahs, homes, a market area,
a fisherman’s workshop, a ware-
house and wharf. Volunteers are
helping to delicately remove dirt
and debris to expose these very
old structures that date from the
time of the second temple — 70
C.E. It is one of only seven syna-
gogues of this era that has been
excavated and has several unusu-
al features.
For Christians, it is especially
meaningful that Jesus, who lived
in nearby Nazareth, undoubtedly

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November 30 • 2017

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