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Archaeology in Israel: Biblical Era Roman Stables

(November 2017)

An Israeli family in the village of Eilabun, eleven miles from Nazareth, made a significant discovery in October 2017.  While digging a garden in their backyard the family came upon a large hole in the ground, which opened to a complex network of underground caves.  Due to the presence of notches in the cave walls, as well as a large trough likely used for food or water, Israeli archaeologists confidently stated that the cave system was used as a stable. 

Archaeological analyses deduced that the caves had been built and used 2,000 years prior to their discovery; during the Biblical period when Jesus is said to have lived in the area.  The discovery was buried three meters beneath the surface by centuries of dirt and silt.  Over the years looters and robbers cleared the cave system of anything valuable, and left broken pottery shards and damaged cave walls in their wake.  Two arrests were made in connection with thefts from the site following the archaeological expedition.  


Sources: Theodoros Karasavvas.  Family Accidentally Discovers 2,000-Year-Old Roman Stables in Their Backyard, Ancient Origins, (November 3, 2017); 
Callum Patton.  Israel: Biblical Roman Stables Discovered in Area Where Jesus Lived & Preached, Newsweek, (October 19, 2017).