<< Our Photo Pages >> Hammat Tiberias - Ancient Village or Settlement in Israel
Submitted by motist on Wednesday, 11 October 2017 Page Views: 1453
Multi-periodSite Name: Hammat Tiberias Alternative Name: HammathCountry: Israel Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Nearest Town: Tiberias
Latitude: 32.766049N Longitude: 35.550759E
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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Hammat-Tiberias was a walled Canaanite city mentioned in the Bible. It peaked during the Roman/Byzantine periods, and was famous for its healing powers.
A number of synagogues were unearthed and reconstructed, including the 5th C Zodiac mosaic Joshua 19: 32, 35: The sixth lot came out for the children of Naphtali.... And their border was ... the fortified cities were Ziddim-zer, and Hammath, and Rakkath, and Chinnereth...
The city was a walled city during the Biblical times, and peaked during the Roman/Byzantine periods. It was known for its warm health springs (a total of 17 springs, at a temperature of about 60 C) and was a spa center for the great Roman city of Tiberias.
A number of synagogues were unearthed and reconstructed, including one of the most important mosaics - a zodiac with symbols, inscriptions and symbols, and two 7-branched menorahs.
The site is a national park and is open to the public during visiting times. It is located on the southern entrance to Tiberias, across the street to the modern baths (Hammei-Tveriah).
Bronze and Iron periods
The site was known for its healing waters even before the Israelites conquered the Holy Land. It may have been listed in the Anastasi Papyrus, written at the 13th C BC during the Ramses dynasty, when the author of the document tells about crossing Hammat.
It was one of the cities in the region of Naftali, and according to the Bible (Joshua 19, 32-25) it was a fortified Canaanite city. Its location, on the ancient trade route from Syria/Mesopotamia to Israel/Egypt, surrounded on two sides by the lake and the mountain, made it a prime strategic place.
Hellenistic period
The first structures were established in the Hellenistic period, and the site was known as Emmaus of the Galilee.
Roman/Byzantine period
The Romans installed a large set of baths in the site, whose waters were considered healing. At those times the number of sick people was extremely high, most of them without any cure, as implied in the new Testament and the miracles of Jesus. The healing power of the waters made the site popular in the Roman world.
Hammat Tiberias is the place, according to Josephus Flavius, where Vespesian pitched his camp in 67AD before launching the assault on Gamla.
A new major city, Tiberias, was established in 18 AD several hundred meters north to the site. After several hundred years, during the Byzantine period, the new city became so large that it incorporated the older city of Hammat. The Byzantine emperor Caesar Justinius (527-567) erected new walls and the city's southern gate was constructed on the south side of Hammat.
5 Synagogues
Tiberias became an important Jewish city, and several synagogues were built in Hammat. The oldest, in the 1st C AD, may have been a public house, with a court yard and several rooms. It was destroyed in the 2nd C, and replaced by a second synagogue at the 3rd C, which lasted until the 4th C and may have been destroyed in the 363 earthquake that damaged many Galilean sites. A third synagogue, the grandest of all, was built by Severus with an amazing Zodiac mosaic floor, but was destroyed in the 5th C. The 4th synagogue was built over its ruins in the 6th C and lasted until the 7th C. The 5th structure was built during the Arab conquest and was destroyed in the 8th C.
Arab periods
The site was in ruins since the 8th C.
During the 18th C a new Turkish bath was constructed at the site, and existed from 1780 until 1944.
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