Archaeologists say they may have found the lost city where Jesus performed miracles

After ten seasons of excavation on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, an international team of archaeologists says it has found the remains of Bethsaida, the biblical city associated with Jesus’ miracles.

The site, known today as el-Araj in northern Israel, has produced discoveries that the researchers connect to the lives of the apostle Peter and his companions. The most striking evidence includes the remains of a basilica dating from the late fifth century. Archaeologists believe the church was built over the former home of Peter and Andrew.

A mosaic inscription inside the church strengthens that interpretation, according to the team. It honors a local benefactor and calls for the intercession of Peter, whom the inscription describes as the guardian of the keys of heaven. Beneath the Byzantine church, researchers also found walls from a first-century home. Steven Notley, the project’s academic director, said those remains correspond to an account by the eighth-century pilgrim Willibald, who described a church built over the apostles’ house.

The excavations also point to the site’s changing character. Hundreds of lead fishing weights indicate that the settlement began as a fishing village. Roman baths and public buildings suggest later urban growth, consistent with historical accounts that Bethsaida developed into a city called Julias under Herod Philip.

Coins, lamps, cosmetic tools and chalk pottery indicate the presence of a stable Jewish community during the first century, when Jesus traveled through the region. Notley said the site meets the geographical and demographic requirements described by first-century historians such as Josephus. The team disputes the view that et-Tell, another proposed location, represents historical Bethsaida.

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Nothing we have found contradicts it.