Archaeological evidence demonstrates that the town came into existence in the second century BC, in the Hasmonean period. The site had no defensive wall and extended along the shore of the nearby lake. The cemetery zone is found 200 meters north of the synagogue, which places it beyond the inhabited area of the town. It extended 3 kilometers to Tabgha, an area which appears to have been dedicated to agriculture, judging by the many oil and grain mills which were discovered in the excavation. Fishing was also a source of income.

The Synagogue

The synagogue was built almost entirely of white blocks of calcareous stone brought from distant quarries. The building consists of four parts: the praying hall, the western patio, a southern balustrade and a small room at the northwest of the building. The internal walls were covered with painted plaster and superbly well-done stucco work found during the excavations. The synagogue appears to have been built around the fourth or fifth century AD. Beneath the foundation of this synagogue lies another foundation made of basalt, and was suggested that this is the foundation of a synagogue from the first century AD. 

A Byzantine Oil-Lamp

The ancient synagogue still has two inscriptions, one in Greek and the other in Aramaic, that remember the benefactors that helped in the construction of the building.

The city dwelling house

 The Octagonal church

A Bronze Cross

The southern wall
The southern wall was apparently part of the wall erected by the Caesar Justinius (527-565 AD).

The Southern City Gate

The remains of arches which once suported a building, probably a spa.

In the southern part of the site, remains of additional synagogues construted between the first and eighth centuries and built one on top of the other. The mosaic floor at the site belong to the Severus Synagogue, built in the fourth century AD and destroyed in the fifth.

The Synagogue

A Talmudic Incantation Bowl

Talmudic Oil-Lamp

The platform (Bima) of the later synagogue (5th – 8th centuries)
A semicircular prayer alcove, served as a platform on which the ark was placed. In the annex to the east was the stairway leading to the upper floor, while in the room to its west the synagogue chest (Geniza) was discovered.

Courtyard of the later synagogue  (5th – 8th centuries), can be a study room.

The Jewish city of Corazim was first mentioned during the Second Temple period, when it was famous for the high-quality wheat grown by its residents. Corazim flourished during the mishnaic and talmudic periods, 3rd-4th centuries A.D., most of the remains visible today date to this period.

In the 5th or 6th century the town was restored. The next period of groth was in the 8th century, during the Early Arabic period. after a hiatus of several hundred years, settlement was renewed in the 13th century. A small population occupied the site from the 15th century until the beginning of the present century.

Dwelling houses

Oil Press

Ritual Bath

The Synagogue

Medusa

 Seats of Moses

One of the most unusual artifacts is the so-called cathedral of Moses, a basalt armchair which likely was a seat for the important members of the community. A dedication in Aramaic can be seen on its back.

The site include the remains of the largest known Byzantine monastery in the Holy Land. The monastery include a church and was surrounded by walls.

The monastery and the church

The Apse

The church mosaic

The Chapel and a Crypt

Baptitery

Oil Press

Chapel

The Bathhouse

Between the third century BC and the seventh sentury AD, Hippos was the site of a Greco-Roman city. The first residents of the city were pagans who later converted to Christianity. At their side lived a small Jewish community as well. Most of the ruins visible today date to the Roman and Byzantine periods.

Besides the fortified city itself, Hippos controlled a small port facility on the lake and an area of the surrounding countryside. Hippos was part of the Decapolis, or Ten Cities, a group of cities in Roman Palestine that were culturally tied more closely to Greece and Rome than to the Middle East.

The city was apparently destroyed by an earthquake in 749 A.D. and was never resettled.

From above, the plateau on which Hippos is built very vaguely resembles the head and neck of a horse. This is why early Greek settlers named it after the Greek word for horse, Hippos. The local Aramaic and Hebrew name, Sussita, also means horse, and the Arabic name, Qal’at el-Husn, means “Fortress of the Horse.” Other names include the alternate spelling Hippus and the Latinized version of the Greek name: Hippum.

The City eastern entrance

Decumanus Maximus – The Main Road

 The Western Gate and the Forum

Water Cistern

The North-East Church

The North – West Church

Hellenistic Compound

Water Canal