Bet She'an - fantastic ruins

Today's town of Bet Shean was built in the fertile area, which was populated as far back as in the 5th millenium B.C.

The hill on the southern bank of Harod river, known as Tel Bet Shean, contains some twenty archaeological strata. When the Philistines found the dead body of Saul, they displayed it on the city walls of Bet Shean (1 Samuel 31:10).

But more extensive and well-preserved are the ruins of the Roman-Byzantine city of Bet Shean - Scythopolis; there is a good view of the ruins (more exactly, of the excavated area, which covers approximately one tenth of the ancient city's territory) from the hilltop.

Among impressive Roman and Byzantine remains of Bet Shean are a large Roman theatre (like that in Caesarea), a Byzantine bathhouse, rooms with Byzantine mosaics, two main colonnaded streets and a Roman temple at their intersection, and even public lavatories. Ruins of Roman amphitheatre and hyppodrome are nearby.

The city was destroyed in 749 A.D. by a severe earthquake. Archaeologists intentionally left columns lie on the ground in certain areas, so the devastating effect of the earthquake is easily seen.