Kursi, Sea of Galilee

Location

The site is located near the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee on the bank of a wadi, Nahal Samakh, descending from the Golan Heights.

Christian significance

Kursi has been identified by tradition as the site of the "Miracle of the Swine", where Jesus healed a man possessed by demons by driving the demons into a herd of pigs. The pigs then ran into the lake and were drowned (Mark 5:1–20, Matthew 8:28–34, Luke 8:26–39). The details differ somewhat in the three Synoptic Gospels 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 Gerasenes, Gadarenes or Gergesenes (Mark 5:1, Matthew 8:28, Luke 8:26). Exorcised was either one man as per Mark and Luke, or two as per Matthew.

Ancient monastery

History

The monastery and its church were built in the 5th century, remaining in use throughout the Byzantine period. 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 Sassanian (Persian) armies invaded Israel laying waste most of its churches and monasteries, including the one at Kursi. marking the end of Kursi's use as a Christian pilgrimage site.

Description

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 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 atrium 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.

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 were destroyed, but some are still visible, such as geese, doves, cormorants and fish, citrons, dates, pomegranates, 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 narthex to a crypt 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 visitors.

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 the boulder. Three distinct layers of mosaic floor and an apse were excavated here.

Archaeology

Monastic complex

The ruins of the monastery were first unearthed by road construction crews in 1970. Kursi lay unknown for many centuries until pieces of Byzantine pottery turned up at the site. Major excavation took place between 1971 and 1974 headed by Israeli archaeologist Dan Urman and his Greek colleague Vassilios Tzaferis for the Israel Antiquities Authority. Together they excavated the largest Byzantine monastic complex found in Israel. Further excavations have since been taking place, the marble-lined bath-house being one of the more recent discoveries.

The church has been reconstructed to a degree which allows the visitor to understand its three-dimensional shape and size.

Christian artifacts from Kursi can be viewed at the Golan Archaeological Museum.

Possible synagogue

A building that may have been a synagogue was unearthed in 2015.

The scholars who excavated the fragments assume that the marble tablet initially measured some 120 by 60 centimetres.

References

References

1. (December 2015). "Our Researchers Uncover a Unique Hebrew Inscription Showing Existence of a Jewish Village at Kursi". [[University of Haifa]].
2. [https://www.seetheholyland.net/kursi/ See the Holy Land: Kursi]
3. [https://architectureandasceticism.exeter.ac.uk/items/show/187 University of Exeter website, Architecture and Asceticism section, ''Kursi Church, Galilee'', article by Lucy O'Connor, August 2013]
4. 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 [[Muslim conquest of the Levant. conquest of Palestine]] in 638–641 until being totally devastated by the [[749 Galilee earthquake
5. [https://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=47430 Megalithic Portal website, ''Kursi National Park - Ancient Village or Settlement in Israel'', article dated September 26, 2017]
6. [https://embassies.gov.il/stockholm-en/NewsAndEvents/Pages/Sea-of-Galilee.aspx Embassy of Israel in Sweden website, ''Sea of Galilee: Perfect place for a Christian pilgrimage'', article dated April 12, 2013]
7. [https://www.seetheholyland.net/kursi/ See the Holy Land: Kursi]
8. (24 August 2015). "Dan Urman, 1945–2004". [[Biblical Archaeology Society]].
9. (16 December 2015). "Discovery suggests Jews lived in Galilee 1,500 years ago". Y-net.