Some things of archaeological interest Tells Excavations Archaeologists at work Ancient cities

Archaeologists’ equipment at a dig Although much of Jerash has been uncovered the archaeologists still are hard at work!

Archaeologists at work at a dig They need to be careful when they are on site. It’s not just shovels that they use! A mosaic floor needs care.

Archaeologist often investigate a tell The tell at Beth Shan has 16 levels The tell at Old Jaffa has levels back to Egyptian times making it the oldest port in the world!

Tells are artificial mounds containing many levels of civilisation This is a continuation of the other photo The tell at Megiddo contains 23 levels from Egyptian times onwards!

Sometimes it is clear where there are ancient buildings This is the view from Masada which was beseiged by the Romans in the 1st century AD Roman Roman camp camp

Sometimes the archaeologists have to dig The town of Bethsaida had to be uncovered Work in Jerusalem uncovering the1st century city

What archaeologists discover has to be pieced together A house in Bethsaida What the archaeologists could work out from these ruins!

Sometimes the archaeologists find places people believed did not exist The Bible spoke about the Pool of Bethesda. People thought that the Bible was wrong. The Pool was uncovered a few years ago.

Sometimes they find objects from the past This fishing vessel is 2000 years old. It was found in the mud on the edge of the Sea of Galilee. It has preserved. There is a model of it to show what it looked like.

They discover forgotten tunnels This tunnel runs under the western Wall in Jerusalem. It contains the remains of a 1st century street and a water channel.

Their discoveries reveal many facts about earlier civilisations The water was taken up to the top and stored in cisterns Water channel to collect rain The warm room note the original wall colour Although Masada was on top of a high hill in the desert region of Judea the Jews and Romans who occupied it had a water supply. The Roman commander also enjoyed a bath in his bath house.

Ancient cities are revealed Jerash (Jerusa) was a rich city and one city of the Decapolis There was a main street leading to all the most important buildings A pedestrian crossing was provided Archaeologists worked on the main gate to restore it to its original appearance

We learn a lot about their lives Water was piped to the nymphaeum. The women would collect it and take it home The people were entertained at the theatre. The theatre was also used for wild animal fights. To make a barrier between the audience and the animals are marble slab was inserted into this slot

Even mosaics can tell us something Jerusalem The River Nile This mosaic in a church in Madaba is the oldest map (6th century AD) of the area. Unlike modern maps it ran east to west not north to south.