Beit She’an is one of those places that I knew was cool when I visited in 2017, but was unable to fully grasp just how incredible it was. I think I was on overload at the time.
So when I went back, I got to be amazed all over again!
One of the 2 cities of the Decapolis as mentioned in the NT that is in Israel (the other being Susita in the Galilee), Beit She’an was a thriving Roman city during Jesus’ day. It was built at the foot of a tel dating back millennia- the same place where the Philistines hung the headless bodies of King Saul and his sons over the walls (1 Samuel 31:8-13). From a theater to a bathhouse and public toilets, this place had it all.
The bathhouse:
View from the main street (cardo):
The cardo, or the main street going through the center of town:
The statues here show at least 1 thing this city was known for...
Until 749 AD, when a massive earthquake shook the entire region- the largest in recorded history. All this splendor fell down and cracked open, stately columns rolling this way and that until they finally stopped laid in testament to the tectonic game of pick-up sticks the earth played on that fateful day. When the city was found and excavated, coins dating to 749 AD were found, marking the exact date of destruction almost as well as a stopped clock.
These columns are massive... grown men can't wrap their arms around them.
On a clear day, you can see all the way into Jordan from the other side:
At the top of the tel lie more ruins, this time of the Philistine village. But, they dug deeper and even found the governor’s house from when the Egyptians controlled the area! That’s MILENNIA ago!
WOW! If you ever get a chance to visit Beit She'an, I highly recommend it! The magnitude of it is overwhelming.
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