Bet Shean

An Earthquake Preserved This Roman City Better Than Any Museum Could

In 749 CE, a catastrophic earthquake struck the northern Jordan Valley and toppled most of Scythopolis. Columns fell outward. Streets were buried under a metre or more of rubble. The subsequent population relocated and the site was never built over at significant scale. When modern excavations began, they found a Roman provincial capital remarkably intact beneath the debris – paving stones still in place, columns lying exactly where they fell, mosaic floors preserved by the same rubble that had buried them for 1,200 years. It is among the most complete Roman city layouts accessible anywhere in the Levant.

Beit She’an sits at the junction of two ancient trade routes in the northern Jordan Valley, about 120 kilometres north of Jerusalem. Continuous settlement dates to at least the fifth millennium BCE, making it one of the longest-inhabited sites in the region. Egyptian pharaohs controlled it during the Late Bronze Age – the stele of Seti I found here, now in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, is evidence of that presence. Under Rome it became the largest member of the Decapolis, the league of ten semi-autonomous Greek-speaking cities in the eastern Roman world, reaching perhaps 40,000 residents at its height in the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE.

What to See

Beit She’an National Park encompasses both the ancient mound (Tel Beit Shean) and the lower Roman-Byzantine city. The colonnaded Silvanus Street is the main axis, flanked by shop fronts with threshold steps still worn smooth, a Roman bathhouse with mosaic floors, public latrines, a nymphaeum, and a Byzantine basilica. The level of preservation is genuinely unusual: you can walk the full plan of the ancient city at street level rather than looking down at it from above.

The Roman Theatre, built in the 2nd century CE, held roughly 7,000 spectators and is one of the largest and best-preserved in Israel. The semicircular seating, stage wall, and sections of carved decoration survive in good condition. Summer evening concerts are occasionally held here; worth checking the national parks schedule before visiting.

The tel rises about 30 metres above the valley floor and can be climbed via a marked trail. The summit view covers the full layout of the lower city and the Jordan Valley. Excavations have produced Egyptian-era temples, a governor’s residence, and occupation layers from Chalcolithic times onward, each representing a different civilisation’s decision to build on the same productive land.

Practical Information

The Jordan Valley runs significantly hotter than coastal Israel – 38 degrees Celsius or above is common from June through September. Start early, carry more water than you think you will need, and wear a hat. The site is open Sunday through Thursday and Saturday with reduced hours on Friday.

The site pairs well with Sachne (Gan HaShlosha National Park) 7 kilometres to the west: natural spring pools at a constant 28 degrees Celsius year-round, set in lush gardens. Moving from an ancient Roman city to a natural swimming pool in the same afternoon is an unusually satisfying day.

Tiberias, 40 kilometres north on the Sea of Galilee, makes a practical base with a full range of hotels and easy access to Tel Megiddo (Armageddon), Nazareth, and Tzippori – a northern Israel archaeological circuit that most visitors to the country skip entirely by staying in Jerusalem.