Jewish Village Uncovered in Galilee Region

A team of archaeologists have uncovered the remains of an unfamiliar Jewish village located five miles northwest of Nazareth that, according to those behind the dig, offers a unique look into Galilean Jewish village life and its economy at the birth of both Christianity and the Judaism of the Talmud.

The remains include an ancient synagogue, houses and extensive evidence of pottery production in the ancient Jewish village of Shikhin and lies a short distance from the ancient city of Sepphoris (Zippori).

Shikhin, the dig's director James Riley Strange of Samford University points out, is mentioned by the famed Jewish historian Flavius Josephus as one of the earliest Jewish settlements in the Galilee at the time of the Hasmonaean dynasty, which ruled between about 140 BC to 63 BC. Additionally, the Talmud mentions it as a village of potters near Sepphoris.

The site was later abandoned except for agriculture during the mid-fourth century, according to Strange.

"The buildings came down and people used its stones in other nearby buildings, then those buildings were destroyed and the stones were re-used again," he said in a press release.

The team was surprised by the large number of molds used in the production of oil lamps they found at the site, proof the village potters produced various types of oil lamps in addition to many common pottery forms.

The team first surveyed the site in 2011 and began excavating the following year. They were joined by fellow directors Mordechai Aviam of the Institute for Galilean Archaeology at the Kinneret Academic College in Israel and David Fiensy of Kentucky Christian University.

The news of the discovery comes on the heels of the announcement by the Israel Antiquities Authority regarding the discovery of the likely site of King David's palace. David is believed to have ruled the region from 1010 BC to 970 BC.