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A building that may have been a synagogue has also been unearthed in 2015. Large parts of a marble slab shattered into pieces and inscribed in
Aramaic was found inside this building, and two words were deciphered shortly after the discovery: "amen" and "marmaria"; the latter, literally 'marble', has
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A small
Byzantine chapel stood outside the main compound, on the hill to the south. Here a large boulder was probably considered to be the exact site of the miracle. Remains were discovered of what might have been a tower built around the boulder and of a chapel squeezed in between the hillside and
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used for burials, where archaeologists have found several intact skeletons. Among the rooms on the northern side is one containing an olive press. The atrium is largely built over a large cistern, as one can see from the two well heads; a ladder leading down to the cistern is not accessible to
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The monastery is surrounded by a rectangular stone wall measuring 145 x 123 meters. The entrance facing the Sea of
Galilee was guarded by a watchtower, and a paved road led down to a harbor, where pilgrim boats could berth. Once inside the wall, the pilgrims had the choice of going first to a
334:, and grapes. The baptistery chapel on the southern side of the central apse has a small baptismal font, and the mosaic floor includes an inscription indicating that it was laid in the year 585. A staircase (not accessible to visitors) leads from the southern end of the
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The scholars who excavated the fragments assume that the marble tablet initially measured some 120 by 60 centimetres. They describe the inscription as being in Hebrew, at least 1,600 years old, and consisting of eight lines commemorating a man (or several) from
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laying waste most of its churches and monasteries, including the one at Kursi. The church was later rebuilt, but part of the destroyed settlement was left in its ruined state. The church continued functioning under Muslim rule after the
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The mosaic floor of the nave consists of geometrical designs, while the lateral aisles once contained medallions with depictions of the local flora and fauna; most of these have been destroyed, but some are still visible, such as
400:. It is the only such marble tablet ever found (as of 2015) in an ancient synagogue in Israel or the Golan Heights. The inscription is the first to indicate that the settlement at Kursi was Jewish or Judaeo-Christian.
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or inner courtyard, followed by the church proper which was flanked on both sides by chapels and auxiliary rooms. The church is of the basilical type, with two rows of columns separating it into a nave and two aisles.
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luxurious bathhouse (excavated area to the left/north of the entrance), or going straight to the centrally placed church. The church is 24 x 45 sq. metres in area, and was entered through a forecourt opening onto an
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The ruins of the monastery were first unearthed by road construction crews in 1970, and the major excavation took place between 1971 and 1974 headed by
Israeli archaeologist Dan Urman and his Greek colleague
267:. This being a major pilgrimage site, a number of buildings were built for the accommodation of pilgrims as well as the local monastic community, all surrounded by walls and other fortifications. In 614 the
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Kursi has been identified by tradition as the site of the "Miracle of the Swine", where Jesus healed one or two men possessed by demons by driving these into a herd of pigs (
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dealing with the episode, and again some more in various ancient manuscripts of those same gospels. The events take place in the land of either the
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been interpreted by some scholars as perhaps linked with the cult of the Virgin Mary, possibly meaning 'Maria's rabbi', since 'mar' means rabbi.
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who has (or have) made a donation for the building that included marble. The tablet was set into the floor and was surrounded by a simple
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The church has been reconstructed to a degree which allows the visitor to understand its three-dimensional shape and size.
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site. A marble slab with
Aramaic text discovered in December 2015 seems to indicate that the settlement had, as of
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250:(Mark 5:1, Matthew 8:28, Luke 8:26). Exorcised was either one man as per Mark and Luke, or two as per Matthew.
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457:"Our Researchers Uncover a Unique Hebrew Inscription Showing Existence of a Jewish Village at Kursi"
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The monastery and its church were built in the 5th century, remaining in use throughout the
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562:. Journal of The Jesus Movement in Its Jewish Setting from the First to the Seventh Century
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At the church entrance looking toward the northern aisle with its re-erected columns.
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the boulder. Three distinct layers of mosaic floor and an apse were excavated here.
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University of Exeter website, Architecture and
Asceticism section,
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Ancient inscription points to Jewish past for early
Christian site
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Kursi
National Park - Ancient Village or Settlement in Israel
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604:"Discovery suggests Jews lived in Galilee 1,500 years ago"
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Sea of
Galilee: Perfect place for a Christian pilgrimage
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The church seen from the paved street leading up to it.
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Buildings and structures demolished in the 8th century
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monastery and identified by tradition as the site of
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Christian monasteries established in the 5th century
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Christian artifacts from Kursi can be viewed at the
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242::26-39). The details differ somewhat in the three
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555:Misgav, Haggai; Artzy, Michal; Cohen, Haim.
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653:, 21 December 2015 (accessed June 2020).
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557:"The Synagogue Inscription from Kursi"
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602:Blumenthal, Ian (16 December 2015).
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107:32.8260861°N 35.6503778°E
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525:"Dan Urman, 1945–2004"
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218:Christian significance
112:32.8260861; 35.6503778
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278:conquest of Palestine
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874:New Testament places
177:Miracle of the Swine
18:Kursi, Golan Heights
651:The Times of Israel
635:Kursi National Park
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98:35°39′1.36″E
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763:Canada Park
707:Emek Tzurim
610:16 December
351:Archaeology
288:Description
110: /
86:Coordinates
808:Categories
793:See also:
416:References
343:visitors.
322:and fish,
320:cormorants
126:Settlement
755:West Bank
273:Palestine
269:Sassanian
236:Matthew 8
169:Byzantine
768:Herodium
404:See also
394:Tiberias
365:for the
238::28–34,
198:Location
181:Talmudic
159:) is an
778:Samaria
606:. Y-net
566:19 June
336:narthex
324:citrons
259:History
234::1-20,
163:in the
773:Qumran
745:Hippos
725:Hermon
303:atrium
240:Luke 8
232:Mark 5
157:الكرسي
153:Arabic
145:Hebrew
141:Κυρσοί
76:Region
735:Kursi
560:(PDF)
340:crypt
338:to a
328:dates
316:doves
312:geese
173:Jesus
149:כורסי
133:Kursi
33:Kursi
612:2015
589:help
568:2023
208:wadi
123:Type
175:' "
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578:}}
574:{{
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