Roman ruins at Tzippori
Photo: Oren Yehuda
Israeli excavation shows Jews, pagans lived in harmony
Roman temple unearthed in Galilee proves pagans, Jews prayed, lived together, scientist says
An Israeli scientist says a Roman temple unearthed in the center of an ancient Jewish city in northern Israel shows pagans and Jews lived and worshipped together.
Hebrew University professor Zeev Weiss said Monday the 2nd century temple was found during excavations at Sepphoris, or Tzippori in Hebrew.
The city, the capital of Galilee, was a refuge for Jews who fled Jerusalem after the Romans pillaged the city and destroyed the Jewish temple in A.D. 70.
Weiss says the find sheds light on life during those times. "It shows that pagans who were a minority prayed in the center of the city and lived in harmony with the Jewish majority," he says.
He says a church was built on top of the temple in the 5th century.
