The Cities of the New Testament World

The Cities of the New Testament World is an invaluable resource for anyone wanting to understand the world of the Bible. Through its comprehensive coverage of the 89 cities of the New Testament, readers can gain insight into the culture and people of the time, as well as the historical, political, and social context in which Jesus and his apostles lived. The Cities of the New Testament World is an essential tool for anyone looking to deepen their knowledge of the Bible and its world. Here is an example of one of the cities considered. I have excavated this site for ca. 15 years and present here the results of my research.

Explore the ancient cities of the New Testament world with Dr. Graves! Journey to bustling metropolises like Rome, and explore the holy land of Jerusalem. Discover the cultures, histories, and social structures of the cities that shaped the religious landscape of the ancient Mediterranean. Uncover the origin of their names, the recent archaeological discoveries, and their biblical relevance with the help of this well-travelled bible scholar and archaeologist. Get an essential companion for understanding the New Testament in it's cultural context!

Video Introduction

101. Tall el-Hammâm, and the area around the Tall, which is believed
by the author to be the location of Livias (Beth-ramtha), the
administrative centre of Perea under Herod Antipas. The insert is
the bust of Livia Drusilla, (58 BC–ad 29), Tiberius’ mother and the
wife of Augustus whom Antipas named the city.
© David E. Graves

Livias, Perea

In the first cent. ad, Livias (Λιβιάς Libiás; Lat. Livias Livias, Levidam, Leviadem; also Julias; Bēthramphthá Βηθαραμθα; Jos. A.J. 18.27; Beth-Haram, Betharan in Jos. A.J. 13:27; y. Šeb. 9.2 [38d]) was the leading city (πόλις polis) in the region (τοπαρχίαις toparchiais) of Perea (Transjordan; Jos. B.J. 2.252), on the road linking Esbus (Hesbân; fig. 2) with Jericho and Jerusalem (Eusebius On. 12). Although it is not mentioned in the Bible the importance of the city is illustrated by Eusebius who often used it as a point of reference for his Geography (On. 12; 16; 44, 48; 168) and by the fact that it was identified by name on milestones on the Roman road linking Esbus (Hesbân) with Jericho and Jerusalem (Eusebius On. 12).

Location

The Case for Tall er-Rameh

The traditional location of the Roman city of Livias is identified at Tall er-Rameh (TeR) (Coord.: 31°49´32.28"N 35°38´40.46"E; UTM 36R 750.305E 352.4156N).[1] The strongest evidence for identification of Tall er-Rameh with Livias is that the modern name er-Rameh may have derived from the ancient names of Βηθαραμθᾶ or Βηθραμθα[2] (Bēthramphthá) which is what Josephus indicates was the name for Livias (Jos. A.J. 18.27; 14.1.4). However, etymological links between TeR and Livias are weak at best and TeR does not have monumental Roman buildings or thermal springs that must be associated with Livias.[3] In addition, the Roman mile markers do not support the distances from TeR that are required for the location of Livias.


102. Map of the Roman road indicating the milestones and co-ordinates for Tall al-Hammam. G.I.S. co-ordinates were taken by Qutaiba Dasouqi of the DOA and David Graves on 18 January, 2010. The insert is of the Roman mile marker located on the via publica at the VIIIth mile. © David E. Graves and Qutaiba Dasouqi used by permission.

A closer examination of the archaeological survey for Tall er-Rameh reveals that it only has modest Roman remains and thus its identification with Livias is questionable; new evidence challenges this established view. Noticeably missing are any military fortifications or aqueduct infrastructure necessary for a city the size and significance of Livias.

The Case for Tall al-Hammam

Tall al-Hammam (TaH; Coord.: 31°50´26.58"N 35°40´28.28"E), the most prominent tall in the Jordan Valley and close to Tall er-Rameh (2.5 km),[4] has been overlooked by other archaeologists in the debate for the location of Livias. Wolf (d. 2004), a protégé of Albright, observed the difficulty of limiting ancient cities to only one archaeological site, including Livias:

Villages are well located by Eusebius in these city-districts. If our finding them today is difficult, it is not so much the fault of the ancient writers as of other factors. As in the 20th century, so in the 4th, a village was not a single tell and a city was not a narrow spot at a milestone as some scholars seem to assume. Tell Deir ‘Alla, Franken points out, is only a small section of the total location of Deir ‘Alla as known to the natives today. To limit Livias (Julius) to Tell er-Rameh even if it fits Eusebius closely is to be unrealistic. . . . Avi-Yonah in his map of Roman Palestine notes the region of a city or town properly on the basis of; first, all the inhabited places mentioned as belonging to it, second, all places whose localization is determined by measurement from it, and third all territory watered by the aqueduct.[5]

Wolf’s criteria were kept in mind when the literary, geographical, and architectural evidence for the location of Livias was examined for Tall al-Hammam and published by Graves and Stripling.[6]

The archaeological site of Tall al-Ḥammām (“hill of the hot springs”)[7] has been associated as part of the ancient city of Livias (Lat. Levidam, Leviadem; also Julias).[8] The excavations at Tall al-Ḥammām have strengthened the arguments and supported by the descriptions of ancient writers and pilgrims for the identification of the site.[9] The discovery of the large thermal bath complex (fig. ), tower complex, aqueducts, nearby mosaics, and the presence of at least five thermal springs all support this hypothesis. Of all the sites in the region Tall al-Ḥammām is the only one that is associated with thermal springs.

103. Roman milestone indicating six
Roman Miles to Roman Esbus-Livias.
© David E. Graves

Four Referents

The location of Livias can be identified by intersecting four milestone referents provide distances to its location.

The first reference is the VI^th milestone (milliaire)[10] on the Esbus/Livias road[11] placing Livias twelve Roman miles (17.7 km) W of Esbus (Essebōn, Hesban, Heshbon). The VI^th milestone is on display at the Mount Nebo Interpretation center.

Several milestones (II, IV, VI, VII) have been located (fig. 102) along the via publica from Esbus.[12] A fifth milestone was located at the VIII mile during the 2010 survey by Graves. The road between Livias and Esbus was used by pilgrims travelling from Jerusalem via Jericho[13] and the Jordan River (“twenty milestones away from the Jordan,” Eusebius On. 84 [Freeman-Greenville]) to reach Mount Nebo, the sanctuary of Moses (Eusebius On. 16; Eg. 10.8-9). The VI^th mile marker was the point where one could either climb to the top of Mount Nebo or turn N to visit the Ayûn Mûsâ [Springs of Moses] (Eusebius On. 136). The Mount Nebo Interpretation Display reads: “The Sixth Mile, near the Roman fortress of al-Mahattah, at Sarabit [milestone] halfway between Esbus [Hesban] and Livias.” This mile marker indicates that the Roman road was approximately twelve Roman miles from Esbus to Livias.

The second directional reference is made by Eusebius who confirms that Livias is 12 Roman miles W of Heshbon or Esbus (On. 12; 18; 48; 136).

A third directional reference is found in Theodosius where he states that “the city of Livias is across the Jordan, twelve miles [Rm, 17.75 km] from Jericho’ to the E (Topografia 19 [Wilkinson]).

The fourth directional referent is that according to Eusebius, Livias is five Roman miles (7.5 km) S of Tall Nimrin located at Bethnambris (Bethnamaris; Bethnamran; Num 32:36; TMP 749034E, 3532378N; Eusebius On. 44; see also Jerome 45).

These four directional references provide EW and NS co-ordinates that narrow the location of Livias (see the circles that that triangulate its location on the map fig. 102). The 2010 GPS coordinates of the Roman Road from Esbus (Tall Ḥesbān) to the Thermal Bath Complex at Tall al-Ḥammām indicate the distance at 14.1 Roman miles (20.98 km) and to the entrance of the city at 13.36 Roman miles (19.76 km). The GPS distance to Tall er-Rameh was measured at 15.3 Roman miles (22.64 km).[14] Tall al-Ḥammām is more accurate to the ancient Roman milestone measurements than Tall er-Rameh and the more likely candidate for ancient Livias.

Hot Springs

Livias was also known for its thermal springs (aquae calidae).[15] From the 5^th cent. ad, several Christian pilgrims during their pilgrimages described visiting the thermal springs at Livias (Theodosius Top. 19; ad 491–530; Antoninus Placentinus ca. ad 570 Itinerarium Antonini Placentini;[16] Gregory of Tours, De Gloria Martyrum 1.17 ad 538–594). One of the earliest accounts of thermal springs at Livias was recorded by Petrus of Iberia, bishop of Maioumas-Gaza, who visited Livias in ad 428 “to bathe in the hot spring because of his infirmity” (Vita Petri Iberi §116 [R83 Horn and Phenix]). The location was known as the thermae Moses (“Spring of Moses”; Vit. Pet. §116 [R83]). Clearly, thermal springs (aquae calidae) were identified by the pilgrims at the city of Livias; thus, TeR could not have been Livias since it had no springs. There are five documented thermal springs around Tall al-Ḥammām.[17]

104. Madaba Map indicating the city of Livias
(Site two, Tall el-Ḥammām)
© David E. Graves

The Madaba Map

The famous Madaba Mosaic Map[18] of the Holy Land may provide clues for the identification of Livias. On the Madaba Map each city is portrayed by a stylized vignette and is accompanied by its name in Greek. The identification of Site Two with the city of Livias is held by most scholars[19] and has been identified among other sites as Tall al-Ḥammām.[20]

History

According to Josephus (ad 37–ca. 100), the Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus (r. ca. 103–76 bc) captured the city of Livias (Λιβιάς Libias) from the Arab king Aretas in about 80 bc (Jos. A.J. 14.1.4 §14).

105. Date palms grown at the SW end of Tall al-Ḥammām.

During Herod the Great’s reign (37–4 bc), the city was called Betharamtha (Βηθαραμθα;[21] Jos. A.J. 18.27; Beth-Haram, Betharan in Joshua 13:27) and ruled by Herod’s brother Phasael. Herod the Great planted a renowned date-palm (Nicolaitan) plantation near the city (Jos. B.J. 2.59; Theodosius Top. 19).[22] The dates were of high quality both juicy and sweet (Pliny Nat. 13.44). The Madaba Map also depicts the date palms still growing in the area of Livias-Betharamtha in the sixth cent. ad (fig. 104).[23] Date palms still grow at the edge of Tall al-Ḥammām (fig. 105).

After Herod’s death in 4 BC, insurrectionists burned the city. In ad 13, Herod Antipas (r. ca. 4 bc–ad 39) repaired Livias as an important administrative centre in Perea.[24] To honor Emperor Augustus (r. 27 bc–ad 14) Antipas named the city Julias after Livia,[25] Augustus’s wife (Eusebius On. 48:14–15; Jerome 49:12–13). Livia was a powerful woman in Roman society and following her death in ad 29 she would later be deified by Claudius in ad 41 who acknowledged her title of Augusta and would subsequently be consecrated into the imperial cult (and consecration into the imperial cult (Suetonius Claud. 11; Seneca Apocol. 9).[26] Although numerous cities in the West and East held seats honouring the diva Livia,[27] only two were favoured with names celebrating Livia, Liviopolis in Pontus (Pliny Nat. 6.4, 11; 13.44) and Livias in Perea (Eusebius On. 48:14–15).

While Antipas was busy rebuilding Livias, he was also busy building Tiberias as his Galilean capital (Jos. A.J. 18.36), having already built a wall around Sepphoris (Jos. A.J. 18.27). While all three cities were built by Antipas (Jos. A.J. 18.27, 36) it is unlikely that Livias became as large as Tiberias or Sepphoris.[28]

In ad 14, following Livias’ (Emperor Augustus’ wife) admission into the Julian family (gens Iulia; Tacitus Ann. 1.8, 14; 6.51), Livias was given the name Julias[29] (Jos. A.J. 18.27; 20.29; B.J. 2.168; 2.252; 4.438).[30] Schürer argues that Livias was the older name of the city,

and that this was after the death of Augustus altered [it] into that of Julias; but that this new official appellation was, as in the case of Caesarea Philippi and Neronias, unable to banish the older and already nationalized name. Only Josephus uses the official designation of Julias.[31]

By the second century, other ancient writers used the older name Livias (Pliny Nat. 13.44; Ptolemy Geogr. 5.15.6; 5.16.9; Hierocles Syn. 44; Eusebius On. 48; Syncellus Chronographia 605). Then in ad 55, Nero annexed Julias [Livias] and its fourteen villages and gave them to Agrippa II (Jos. A.J. 20.29). In ad 68 during the Judaeo-Roman War, it was captured by Placidus, a general under Vespasianus (Jos. B.J. 4.7.6; 8.2; fig. 223).

In ad 384, Egeria testified that a presbyter (elder/bishop) had a house in Livias (Eg. 10.8). According to Le Quien [32] Livias was still a bishopric in the fifth and early sixth century. The Byzantine administrative records, list three Bishops from Livias: Letoius, who was at the council of Ephesus in ad 431;[33] Pancratius, who was at the council of Chalcedon in ad 451; and Zacharias who attended the council in Jerusalem in ad 536.[34] Theoteknos, the first theologian to articulate the doctrine of the Assumption of Mary,[35] was the most famous bishop of Livias, officiating sometime between ad 550 and 650.[36]

There ceased to be a bishopric in Livias sometime before ad 649.[37] It would be logical to expect a Christian church(es) nearby during the Byzantine period, especially since a Byzantine church was excavated at nearby Tall Nimrin which was not a bishopric but part of the bishopric of Livias.[38]

106. Mosaic of the chalice/cup in the Byzantine church.

To date, no Byzantine ecclesiastical structures have been found on the site of TeH. However, a large, colourful Byzantine mosaic floor (ca. 10 m. by 10 m.) was located 2.6 km (1.6 miles) to the west of TeH in a local Muslim cemetery. No excavations were conducted in this site however from the RM/BZ pottery identified in the area and the chalice/cup mosaic image (fig. 106) the mosaic suggests it was part of a Byzantine church. Due to this ecclesiastical structure’s proximity to TaH, it is almost certain to be connected to the Byzantine period at TaH.

From the initial assessment of the pottery assemblage, it appears that TaH ended with the Umayyad period (minimal Ayyubid/Mamluk ceramics).[39] If TaH (Livias) came to an end shortly after the earthquake of ad 749 (Umayyad era), it is possible that Livias continued nearby at Tall er-Rameh (TeR) under a different, unknown Arabic name.[40]

With the end of the Christian Pilgrims visiting the site in the late 6^th century, the mention of Livias disappears from the literary record. Roll reports that:

after the fall of the Umayyad dynasty in the middle of the 8^th century and the ascent of the Abbasids, the importance of our region [Transjordan] seems to dwindle in the eyes of the central government.[41]

The archaeological evidence (see PO41; PO43; PO44; and PO45) indicates that the occupation of Livias and use of the Thermal Bath Complex continued into the Umayyad (ad 638–750) and possibly Abbasid period (ad 750–1258),[42] but with the shifting of power from Rome to Bagdad[43] the name of the city would have been an unknown Arabic name and the city of Livias/Julias, as we know it, would have declined. [44] The city of Livias was likely destroyed by the earthquake of ca. ad 749 (Umayyad era).[45]

Biblical Relevance

Under the name of Betharan, Livias is mentioned twice in the Bible (Num 32:36; Jos 13:27).

In the Byzantine period, Egeria was a Spanish pilgrim who travelled the Roman road in ad 381–384 to visit the pilgrimage sites from Jerusalem to Mount Nebo (Jebel en-Neb). Based on the information from the bishop (presbyter) of Livias (Eg. 10.8) she associates the events that took place prior to the conquest occurring at Abel-Shittim on the Plains of Moab (Num 25:1; 33:49; Deut 1:5; Josh 2:1; 3:1)[46] with Livias, along with the writing of the book of Deuteronomy by Moses during his stay there. She wrote in her journal that she spoke with the bishop (presbyter) of Livias (Eg. 10.8) who identified the site with Abel-Shittim and Sodom (Eg. 10.4–6; 12.5). Egeria then visited Mount Nebo reported seeing Livias from there. Further directions for the location of Abel-Shittim (identified with Tall al-Ḥammām) were recorded by Eusebius who stated that Abel-Shittim was near Mount Peor, and that Beth-Peor (Num 23:28; Josh 13:20; Deut 3:29; 4:44–45; 34:1–6) was located 6 Roman miles E of Livias (On. 48; 168) on the road to Esbus (Hesbân) and 7 Roman miles from Hesbân (Esbus; Jerome Liber Locorum, 77) near Mount Peor. Eusebius places the VI^th milestone (milliaire)[47] from Livias on the Esbus/Livias road[48] twelve Roman miles (17.7 km) W of Esbus (Essebōn, Hesbân, Heshbon; Eusebius On. 12; 18; 48; 136).[49] Most modern scholars place the events that took place at Abel-Shittim around the area of Tall al-Ḥammām.[50]

107. Architectural drawing by Leen Ritmeyer based on excavations.

However, in the NT it was the leading city of Perea under the control of Herod Antipas who beheaded John the Baptist (Matt 4:1-3; 14:3; Jos. A.J. 18:119). It is possible that Herod was living at Livias when he beheaded John (imprisoned at Machaerus).[51] Edersheim reasons that during the first year of Jesus’ Galilean ministry, Antipas resided in Perea at Livias or at Machaerus since Herod interacted more with John the Baptist, who was baptizing and beheaded in southern Perea (Matt 4:1-3; 14:3; Jos. A.J. 18:119), than Jesus (Luke 13:31, 32; Mark 6:13) who had not had contact with Herod in Galilee.

Archaeology

From the research and excavations in the last 15 years there is strong evidence that the archaeological site of Tall al-Ḥammām was part of the city of Livias. Although the stratigraphy of the site is disturbed by modern agricultural activity there is clear evidence of Early Roman (Herodian); Late Roman; Byzantine; and Early Islamic occupation. Discoveries include extensive array of ceramics some of which were whole vessels including cooking pots, table amphoras, jugs, juglets, bag-shaped transport storage jars, and various style oil lamps. The architectural structures include the fortified tower complex on the upper tall and on the lower tall the western Roman tower; the large Thermal Bath complex (34.2 m. by 40.6 m. [116.5 ft. x 133 ft.]) and 165 m. of exposed aqueduct. The city of Livias was guarded on the mountain sides by several Roman fortifications including Tall al-Tahuneh; Khirbet al-Habbasa; Tall Barakat and Umm Ḥadher while the western side of the city was protected by the western Roman tower.

For the details on the archaeology of Livias see the excavation reports of Tall al-Ḥammām.

Footnotes

[1] Morris Jastrow and Frants Buhl, “Beth–Aram,” in JE (New York, N.Y.: Funk & Wagnalls, 1906), 119; Siméon Vailhé, “Livias,” in CE, ed. Charles George Herbermann, trans. Mario Anello, vol. 9 (New York: Appleton & Company, 1913), 9: 315; William F. Albright, “The Jordan Valley in the Bronze Age,” AASOR 6 (1926): 49; Nelson Glueck, “Some Ancient Towns in the Plains of Moab,” BASOR 91 (1943): 11; Herbert Donner and H. Cüppers, “Die Restauration Und Konservierung Der Mosaikkarte von Madeba,” Zeitschrift Des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 83 (1967): 22; Kay Prag, “A Walk in the Wadi Hesban,” PEQ 123, no. 1 (1991): 60–61; Herbert Donner, The Mosaic Map of Madaba. An Introductory Guide, Palaestina Antiqua 7 (Kampen: Kok Pharos, 1992), 39; Estee Dvorjetski, Leisure, Pleasure, and Healing: Spa Culture and Medicine in Ancient Eastern Mediterranean, JSJSup 116 (Leiden: Brill, 2007), 202.

[2] F. M. Abel, “L’Exploration Du Sud-Est de La Vallee Du Jourdain,” RB 40 (1931): 220 n.2.

[3] For the arguments for the case for Tall er-Rameh, see Graves and Stripling, “Re-Examination of the Location for the Ancient City of Livias,” 184–89.

[4] Glueck, “Some Ancient Towns,” 18; Steven Collins, Khalil Hamdan, and Gary A. Byers, “Tall El-Hammam: Preliminary Report on Four Seasons of Excavation (2006–2009),” ADAJ 53 (2009): 388.

[5] Carl Umhau Wolf, “Eusebius of Caesarea and the Onomasticon,” BA 27 (1964): 66.

[6] Graves and Stripling, “Re-Examination of the Location for the Ancient City of Livias,” 178–200; David E. Graves, A Preliminary Report on the Tall Al- Ḥammām Excavation Project: Field LA (2005–2017), ed. Steven Collins, Gary A. Byers, and D. Scott Stripling (Moncton, NB: ECM, 2021).

[7] The Arabic name Ḥammâm (حمّام) means “hot spring/well” and correlates to the similar Hebrew word hamat which means “hot springs.” Prag translates the name Tall al-Ḥammām as “Hill of the Hot Baths.” Kay Prag, “Preliminary Report on the Excavations at Tell Iktanu and Tall El-Hammam, Jordan 1990,” Levant 23 (1991): 57.

[8] Graves and Stripling, “Re-Examination of the Location for the Ancient City of Livias,” 178–200.

[9] Graves, Preliminary Report on the Tall Al- Ḥammām Excavation Project.

[10] Eusebius uses the term semeia (lit. “signs”).

[11] For the history of the Roman road and milestones, see Michele Piccirillo, “The Roman Esbus-Livias Road,” in Mount Nebo: New Archaeological Excavations 1967-1997, ed. Michele Piccirillo and Eugenio Alliata, Studium Biblicum Franciscanum 27 (Jerusalem: Franciscan, 1998), 133–35.

[12] S. D. Waterhouse and R. Ibach, “Heshbon 1973: The Topographical Survey,” AUSS 13 (1975): 218–28; Henry Baker Tristram, The Land of Moab: Travels and Discoveries on the East Side of the Dead Sea and the Jordan (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1873), 346.

[13] Robert L. Muse, “Revelation 2–3: A Critical Analysis of Seven Prophetic Messages,” JETS 29, no. 2 (1986): 172.

[14] According to Chapman and Taylor, based on an inscription published by F. M. Abel in 1926, the Palestinian Byzantine foot was 30.89 cm or 12 inches. They document that “there were 5000 feet in a mile, meaning a Palestinian Byzantine mile would have measured 1,544.50 m. A Roman foot, pes, is usually considered to be 29.5 cm, a somewhat shorter length, so that a Roman mile, a mille passus, is generally estimated to have been 1,475-81 m” Rupert L. Chapman and Joan E. Taylor, “Distances Used by Eusebius and the Identification of Sites,” in The Onomasticon by Eusebius of Caesarea: Palestine in the Fourth Century AD, ed. G. S. P. Freeman-Grenville and Joan E. Taylor, trans. G. S. P. Freedman-Grenville (Jerusalem: Carta, 2003), 175; John Wilkinson, Jerusalem Pilgrims Before the Crusades (Oxford: Aris & Phillips, 2002), v. Since the milestones are from the Roman period, 1,479 m was used in the calculations.

[15] F. M. Abel, Géographie de La Palestine. I–II, Géographie Politique. Les Villes (Paris: Gabalda, 1938), 1: 459.

[16] Antoninus Placentinus, “Itinerarium,” in Jerusalem Pilgrims Before the Crusades, trans. John Wilkinson (Oxford: Aris & Phillips, 2002), 165–66.

[17] Graves, Preliminary Report on the Tall Al- Ḥammām Excavation Project, 80–82.

[18] For details on the famous Madaba Map Mosaic of the Church of St. George, Madaba, Jordan, see Donner “The Site of the Pentapolis: Part 2,” Biblica 12 (1930): 37–94. For a discussion of recent excavations and archaeological surveys in the region, see Alliata and Piccirillo (1999, 121-24).

[19] Donner, Mosaic Map of Madaba, 39; Glueck, “Some Ancient Towns,” 15, 21; Nelson Glueck, Explorations in Eastern Palestine IV. Part 1, AASOR 25–28 (New Haven, CT: ASOR, 1951), 377; Kay Prag, “Tall El-Hammam as Livias, 8 Jan 2009,” January 8, 2009, 1.

[20] David E. Graves and D. Scott Stripling, “Identification of Tall El-Hammam on the Madaba Map,” BS 20, no. 2 (2007): 35–45.

[21] For a detailed examination of the name for Bethramtha, see Adolf Neubauer, La Géographie Du Talmud (Sapienza: Universidade de Roma, 1868), 247 ff.; Peter Thomsen, Loca Sancta: Verzeichnis der im 1. bis 6. Jahrhundert n. Chr. erwähnten Ortschaften Palästinas mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Lokalisierung der biblischen Stätten, I Band mit einer Karte (Hildesheim: Olms, 1966), 38; Hoehner, Herod Antipas, 88–89.

[22] Eibert J. C. Tigchelaar, “Eden and Paradise: The Garden Motif in Some Early Jewish Texts (1 Enoch and Other Texts Found at Qumran),” in Paradise Interpreted: Representations of Biblical Paradise in Judaism and Christianity, ed. Gerard P. Luttikhuizen, Themes in Biblical Narrative 2 (Leiden: Brill, 1999), 36.

[23] Michael Avi-Yonah, The Madaba Mosaic Map with Introduction and Commentary (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1954), 25; F. Nigel Hepper and Joan E. Taylor, “Date Palms and Opobalsam in the Madaba Mosaic Map,” PEQ 136, no. 1 (2004): 35.

[24] Hoehner, Herod Antipas, 47–48; Jensen, Herod Antipas in Galilee, 10. Although it is unlikely that Livias reached the size of Tiberias or Sepphoris, it is noteworthy that all three cities were built/rebuilt by Herod Antipas (Jos. A.J. 18.27, 36).

[25] Stegmann describes her importance: “The public honour accorded the mother of the new princeps Tiberius [2.121–146; 4.203–210] that was to prove important for the dynastic politics of succession of Augustus. It clearly raised the special position she already enjoyed as ‘emperor’s spouse’, a position promoted (or tolerated) by Augustus, entailing special privileges (35 bc independent administration of her large fortune and sacrosanctitas ‘inviolability’, Cass. Dio Hist. Rom. 49.38.1; 9 bc ius (trium) liberorum, Cass. Dio Hist. Rom. 56.10.2; Ius E.2.) and multiple honours in Rome as well as in the provinces (in the east of the empire also godlike veneration) [1.34-105; 5.48–53]. Many public honors are also documented for the mother of the princeps Tiberius (CIL V 6416, cultic veneration also in the west, CIL II 2038; X 7340; furthermore, the towns Liviopolis in Pontus and Livias in Iudaea have been named after L. (Pliny Nat. 6.11; 13.44).” Helena Stegmann, “Livia [2],” in BrillPaulyA, ed. Hubert Cancik and Helmuth Schneider, trans. Christine F. Salazar and Francis G. Gentry (Leiden: Brill, 2006), op cit., http: //dx.doi.org/10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e707950; Anthony Barrett, Livia: First Lady of Imperial Rome (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2002).

[26] Gertrude Grether, “Livia and the Roman Imperial Cult,” The American Journal of Philology 67, no. 3 (1946): 222–52.

[27] Grether, 222–52.

[28] While the cities of Tiberias and Sepphoris maintained a boule it is not known if this was true of Livias. Samuel Rocca, Herod’s Judaea: A Mediterranean State in the Classic World (Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2015), 325 n. 5.

[29] Not to be confused with the Bethsaida Julias of Lower Gaulanitis built by Philip (Jos. J.W. 2.168; A.J. 18.28).

[30] For a detailed examination of the name for Bethramtha, see Neubauer, La Géographie Du Talmud, 247 ff.; Thomsen, Loca Sancta: Verzeichnis der im 1. bis 6. Jahrhundert n. Chr. erwähnten Ortschaften Palästinas mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Lokalisierung der biblischen Stätten, I Band mit einer Karte, 38; Hoehner, Herod Antipas, 88–89.

[31] Schürer, History of the Jewish People, 1: 142; Dvorjetski, Leisure, Pleasure, and Healing: Spa Culture and Medicine in Ancient Eastern Mediterranean, 198 n. 118.

[32] Michel Le Quien, Oriens christianus in quatuor patriarchatus digestus, in quo exhibentur Ecclesiae patriarchae caeterique praesules totius Orientis (Paris: Typographia Regia, 1740), 3: 655.

[33] Egeria, Diary of a Pilgrimage, ed. and trans. George E. Gingras (Mahwah, NJ: Newman, 1970), 189 n. 135.

[34] Schürer, History of the Jewish People, 2: 177 n.505.

[35] Antoine Wenger, L’Assomption de la T.S. Vierge dans la tradition byzantine du VIe au Xe siècle. études e documents, Archives de l’Orient Chrétien 5 (Paris: Institut français d’études byzantines, 1955).

[36] J. S.J. Galot, “Aux Origines de La Foi En l’Assomption,” La Nouvelle Revue Théologique 87 (1955): 631–36; Wenger, L’Assomption de la T.S. Vierge dans la tradition byzantine du VIe au Xe siècle. études e documents, 109; Andrew J. Ekonomou, Byzantine Rome and the Greek Popes (Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, 2007), 263.

[37] Stephen J. Shoemaker, The Ancient Traditions of the Virgin Mary’s Dormition and Assumption (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 65.

[38] Michele Piccirillo, “A Church at Shunat Nimrin,” ADAJ 26 (1982): 335.

[39] Graves, Preliminary Report on the Tall Al- Ḥammām Excavation Project.

[40] Graves and Stripling, “Re-Examination of the Location for the Ancient City of Livias,” 178–200.

[41] Israel Roll, “The Roads in Roman-Byzantine Palestine and Arabia,” in The Madaba Map Centenary: Travelling Through the Byzantine Umayyad Period. Proceedings of the International Conference Held in Amman 7–9 April 1997, ed. Michele Piccirillo and Eugenio Alliata, Studium Biblicum Franciscannum Collectio Maior 40 (Jerusalem: Studium Biblicum Franciscannum, 1999), 112.

[42] See also the inscriptional evidence of the Islamic bowl and Arabic inscription on wall no. 211.

[43] Irfan Shahid, Byzantium and the Arabs in the Sixth Century (Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks, 1995), 649.

[44] David L. Kennedy, The Roman Army in Jordan, 2nd ed. (London: Council for British Research in the Levant, 2004), 43.

[45] Shmuel Marco et al., “Archaeology, History, and Geology of the A.D. 749 Earthquake, Dead Sea Transform,” Geology 31, no. 8 (2003): 665–68.

[46] Older scholars typically identified Abel-Shittim with Tall al-Kafrayn, which is only about 2 km N of Tall al-Ḥammām. Claude Reignier Conder and Horatio H. Kitchener, The Survey of Eastern Palestine: The Adwan Country, vol. 1 (London: Palestine Exploration Fund, 1881), 229–30; T. K Cheyne and J. S. Black, eds., Encyclopædia Biblica: A Critical Dictionary of the Literary, Political, and Religious History, the Archaeology, Geography, and Natural History of the Bible, 2nd ed. (London: A & C Black, 1899), 4: 1729a; Père Alexis Mallon, Robert Koeppel, and René Neuville, Teleilāt Ghassūl. I: Compte Rendu Des Fouilles de l’Institut Biblique Pontificale, 1929-1932 (Rome: Archaeological Institute of America, 1934), 150–51.

[47] Eusebius uses the term semeia (lit. “signs”).

[48] For the history of the Roman road and milestones, see Piccirillo, “The Roman Esbus-Livias Road,” 133–35.

[49] For details on distances used by Eusebius, see Chapman and Taylor, “Distances Used by Eusebius and the Identification of Sites,” 175–78; Joan E. Taylor, “Directions and Locations in Eusebius’ Onomasticon,” in The Onomasticon by Eusebius of Caesarea: Palestine in the Fourth Century AD, ed. G. S. P. Freeman-Grenville and Joan E. Taylor, trans. G. S. P. Freedman-Grenville (Jerusalem: Carta, 2003), 165–74.

[50] Selah Merrill, “Modern Researches in Palestine,” Journal of the American Geographical Society of New York 9 (1877): 117; Selah Merrill, “Modern Researches in Palestine,” Palestine Exploration Fund: Quarterly Statement 11, no. 1 (1879): 144; Glueck, “Some Ancient Towns,” 17; Nelson Glueck, Explorations in Eastern Palestine II, AASOR 15 (New Haven, CT: ASOR, 1935), 378; Avi-Yonah, Madaba Mosaic Map, 37; Graham I. Davies, The Way of the Wilderness a Geographical Study of the Wilderness Itineraries in the Old Testament, SOTSMS 5 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979), 36; Yohanan Aharoni, The Land of the Bible: A Historical Geography, trans. Anson F. Rainey, 2nd ed. (Louisville: Westminster/Knox, 1981), 419; R. K. Harrison, “Shittim,” in NIDBA, ed. Edward M. Blaiklock (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1983), 413; Joel C. Slayton, “Shittim,” in ABD, ed. David Noel Freedman (New York: Doubleday, 1996), 5: 1222; Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. and Duane Garrett, eds., NIV Archaeological Study Bible: An Illustrated Walk Through Biblical History and Culture (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006), 233; John H. Walton, Victor H. Matthews, and Mark W. Chavalas, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 213.

[51] Murphy-O’Connor speculates that John the Baptist was arrested in Galilee, but his arguments are all hypothetical as indicated in his title. Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, “John the Baptist and Jesus: History and Hypothesis.” NTS 36 (1990), 359–74.

________

Sample page from The Cities of the New Testament World

______

Further Research

David E. Graves, A Preliminary Report on the Tall Al-Ḥammām Excavation Project: Roman, Byzantine and Islamic Remains, Field LR (2005–2017), ed. Steven Collins, Gary A. Byers, and D. Scott Stripling (New Brunswick, Canada: Electronic Christian Media, 2021).

Livias Videos and Discoveries

Tall el-Hammam featured on the History Channel

Sodom Research

The Tall al-Ḥammām Excavation Project: Roman, Byzantine and Islamic Remains is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of the region. This comprehensive report provides a detailed overview of the archaeological discoveries made at the site, including findings from the Roman, Byzantine and Islamic periods. With contributions from leading experts David E. Gravees, Steven Collins, Gary A. Byers and D. Scott Stripling, this publication is an essential resource for anyone interested in learning more about the history of this important site.