Bet Shean

 Bet Shean's main street

 The red cross that was uncovered.

 The baptismal. Notice it is beg enough to dip...not sprinkle?

 Walking on first century mosaic tiles.

 The mall.

     This is the medalion that was stolen.    

Bet Shean is located in the Jordan Valley it was a city that was inhabited during the first ten centuries or so. Here along a mountain is where the bodies of King Saul – the first king of Israel – and his son Jonathan were hung by the Philistines. This city was destroyed by an earthquake, coving it up and preserving it for many years. Archaeologists have uncovered the city and even reassembled some of the pillars of the main street. Down side streets, all of the pillars that were left on the ground were marked so if the archaeologists ever wanted to reassembled the pillars the puzzle pieces were put together. There was a mall off the main street. Mosaic tiles on the floor gave clues to what was sold in the little stores. On one of the store’s floor was a medallion of some queen in Egypt (I forget who) but when they uncovered this rare artifact it was stolen, making it the first stolen artifact in Israel’s history. They shut down all possible ways of transportation, but it had disappeared.  A few years later it was found in the Gaza Strip and placed in Jerusalem’s museum and a duplicate was made and laid in its place on the store’s floor. The people knew that this place was prone to earthquakes so they built their streets that would hold up against earthquakes. Every stone was a perfect rectangle that touched six other rectangle stones. This allowed the stones to hold up each other, and perhaps keep their sewer system, which was underneath the street, from spilling over. Also in Bet Shean there was a church that had a baptismal that was big enough to dip, not sprinkle. There was also a cross that was painted in a vibrant red that the archaeologist had uncovered. They did not touch up the color; just put a sealant over it to prevent fading. There were so many facts in this city many that I didn’t mention: like the Egyptian settlement on top of the mountain, the bath house and the bathrooms, and the mosaic tiles and marble floors that marked the centuries. It was a very neat ancient city that we had the chance to visit.