(AFP) - Israeli and American archaeologists have likely uncovered the lost Roman city of Julias not far from the Jordan River, near the banks of the Sea of Galilee, also known as Lake Kinneret, according to Mordechai Aviam of the Kinneret Institute for Galilean Archeaology.
First century Jewish-Roman historian Flavius Josephus wrote that Julias was built around 30 CE on the ruins of the fishing village of Bethsaida. Aviam told AFP "We have uncovered fragments of pottery, coins, and the remains of a public bath, which tends to prove that it was not a small village, but a town which may correspond to Julias." He said work is also being carried out on another site a few kilometres away and he hoped further excavations would reveal evidence from pre-Roman times, including ancient Jewish remains, which could help verify whether the site is Bethsaida. The site will not immediately be opened to the public.