Biblical Archaeology Review

B.C.E. (Before the Common Era) and C.E. (Common Era) are the scholarly alternate designations corresponding to B.C. and A.D.

See Adam Mikaya, “Earliest Aramaic Inscription Uncovered in Syria,” BAR 07:04.

I define the Hellenistic period as extending from 336 B.C. (the death of Philip II of Macedon and the ascension of his son Alexander the Great) to 44 B.C. (when Augustus consolidated his power over the Roman world).

B.C.E. (Before the Common Era) and C.E. (Common Era) are the scholarly alternate designations corresponding to B.C. and A.D.

This article was prepared in consultation with the directors of the various parts of the Beth-Shean excavations: Yoram Tsafrir, Gideon Foerster and Gaby Mazor. It is based on preliminary reports and has been updated on the basis of information supplied by the excavators.

Jewish synagogues often had human figures in the mosaic floor, while floors in Samaritan synagogues did not; the mosaic in this synagogue has no figures. Moreover, an inscription found in the synagogue is in Samaritan script. Finally, the synagogue is not oriented toward Jerusalem, as Jewish synagogues were.

His more complete name was Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. Another Roman emperor, Caracalla, also bore the name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus; he ruled between 211 and 217 A.D. It is possible, therefore, but unlikely, that the reference on the pedestal is to Caracalla.

See also the sidebar “An Architectural Guide to Roman/Byzantine Beth-Shean” for definitions and pronounciation guides for this and other architectural terms.

See Hershel Shanks, “Dead Sea Scrolls Scandal,” BAR 15:04.

See “An Unpublished Dead Sea Scroll Text Parallels Luke’s Infancy Narrative,” BAR 16:02.