Overview

Described by the Jewish historian Josephus Flavius as “the ornament of all Galilee,” Sepphoris is a rather unique site located in the junction of two important agricultural areas, the valley of Nahal Zippori and the Beth Netofa Valley. It is along the ancient east-west trans-Galilean roadway, about equidistance between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Galilee.

There has been human habitation in the Sepphoris area since prehistoric times. However, unlike many sites in the Mediterranean region, Sepphoris was not simply occupied at a single location that was repeatedly rebuilt and reoccupied creating the familiar tell structure, the artificial hill created by thousands of years of overlaying settlements. Instead, the earliest settlements of Sepphoris were located on nearby hills. It was not until some point near the end of the Iron Age that the settlement shifted from those areas which were closer to the spring of Zippori to the prominent hill that is now known as Sepphoris, or, in Hebrew, Zippori.

The ancient city of Sepphoris occupied the entire summit of the hill with the core of the city in the Hellenistic period covering an area of about 2.5 hectares. It became prominent during the Hasmonean period when it became an administrative center of the Galilee. But it subsequently had a rather tumultuous history until it was given to Antipas in the partition of Herod’s kingdom. During the Roman period, the city expanded beyond the summit, especially into the lower city. The city survived the First Jewish Revolt by surrendering to the Romans, and it became a seat of the Sanhedrin during the period of Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi. Sepphoris was the home of a thriving Jewish community well into the fifth century. By the sixth century, it also had a Christian community with multiple churches and headed by a bishop. The city was inhabited through the Islamic and Crusader periods, but by the modern period the Arab village (Safuriyye), to be replaced by Moshav Zippori after 1948, was just south of the ancient city.

Leroy Waterman of the University of Michigan directed the first major excavations at Sepphoris in 1931, during which he exposed the theater. Since the mid-1980s, Sepphoris has been excavated by four teams, sometimes in collaboration, from the University of South Florida, Duke University, Hebrew University, and Tel Aviv University (directors include James F. Strange, Carol L. Meyers, Eric M. Meyers, Kenneth G. Hoglund, Ehud Netzer, Zeev Weiss, and Tsvika Tsuk). The excavations uncovered substantial remains from the Roman and Byzantine periods both on the summit and in the lower city. The most notable finds include many well-preserved mosaics, a large number of ritual baths (miqva‘oth), and the mixture of Jewish, Christian, and Roman cultures. Unfortunately, the archaeological remains are only partially preserved and not always readily accessible in their full context. The palatial villa that was decorated with an exquisite mosaic depicting the story of Dionysus is a fitting example. The triclinium where the mosaic was laid is preserved in a modern concrete building, but it is essentially detached from the rest of the villa, which remains outside and unrestored. The visitor may enjoy the mosaic, but will not appreciate the size, configuration, and grandeur of the villa. (Photos of this and other mosaics can be viewed in the photo gallery.) Similarly, in the lower city, excavation baulks remain and much of the area is blocked off so that the visitor cannot see most the exposed remains.

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

	Crusader Period
	Byzantine Period
	Roman Period