Remains of Ancient Settlement Uncovered in Kana
(December 2004)
Excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority
in the west Kerem el-Ras sector of Kfar Kana in Lower Galilee uncovered
remains of a settlement that existed for 700 years - throughout the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods.
Among the finds uncovered were building remains of
planed stones surviving to a height of one and a half meters, household
utensils (grinding stone, tabun ovens), and a mikve (Jewish ritual purification
bath), measuring 2m x 4.5m, with an arched roof and six steps, which
survived to a height of almost two meters. The ritual bath was coated
in hydraulic plaster and entered from inside a building. At some point
during the Roman period, it ceased to be used and was closed with stones.
Archaeologist Yardena Alexander, excavation director
on behalf of the Antiquities Authority, identifies the site with Kana in the Galilee,
known from both Jewish and Christian tradition. The Gospel
according to John, Chapter 2, verses 1-11 tells of the town of Kana
in the Galilee where Jesus performed his first miracle by turning water into wine at a Jewish wedding.
Alexander added that about 100 years later, Kana was the home of the
Priestly reservation of Elyashiv. “When the Holy
Temple was destroyed and the Bar
Kokhba Revolt failed, the Jews of Judea fled from the Romans to
the Galilee. Priestly families settled in a number of Galilee towns
and continued the tradition of ritual bathing as was the custom during
Holy Temple times in Jerusalem.
Based on the mikvaot that were excavated at the site and its 2nd century
date, it appears that this could be the priestly neighborhood noted
in the Lamentations of Elazar Kallir and a Roman inscription from Caesarea
referring to the priestly reservation.”
Sources: Israel
Ministry of Foreign Affairs |