Overview

Bibliography

Kallirrhoë is located near the hot springs of ‘Ain ez-Zara on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The site is mentioned by the first century history Josephus as a placed whose springs Herod the Great visited just prior to his death. However, he gives no description of Herod's building activities at the site. The springs at ‘Ain ez-Zara were first identified with Kallirrhoë by U. J. Seetzen in 1807, but the ruins were not identified until the following century. Excavation of the site took place in 1985-1986 and 1989 by A. Strobel, S. Wimmer and C. Clamer for the German Protestant Institute of Archaeology.

The ruins are shallow and poorly preserved. Nevertheless, the basic plan of the Herodian palace complex is discernable. It consists of two courtyard-style buildings connected along a common western wall and separated by a large court. Four phases of Herodian and post-Herodian construction have been identified. On top of the ruins of the Herodian complex, the Byzantines built a smaller villa – though little has survived. The Byzantine settlement is identified on the Madaba map with the label, “THERMA KALLIROES.”

To the west of the palace complex, across the highway and near the shore of the sea, is a long building that the excavator associates with the harbor or landing. It consists of a long portico facing the sea with buildings behind it.

The archaeological strata uncovered at the site, as illustrated in the site plan, date to the following periods:

	Byzantine Period
	Post-Herodian Period
	Herodian Period