West Virginia University - News and Information Services
Archaeologist who helped uncover biblical city to talk at WVU
Dr. Rami Arav, the Israeli archaeologist who helped uncover the city where Jesus was said to have walked on water and performed other miracles, will discuss his work on Tuesday (Feb. 21) at West Virginia University .
“Jesus Uncovered? Archaeology and the Biblical city of Bethsaida” is the title of Arav's talk, scheduled for 7 p.m. in Room G-15 of the Life Sciences Building . Arav's appearance is part of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences' Distinguished Visitors Series.
Bethsaida, on the Sea of Galilee, is one of the most frequently mentioned towns in the New Testament. It's the birthplace of the apostles Peter, Andrew and Philip, and it's heralded as the locale where Jesus walked on the water, fed the multitudes and healed a blind man.
Pilgrims and archaeologists had searched for the city for 2,000 years leading up to 1987, when Arav began exploring a 21-acre expanse pegged as the location of Bethsaida. Three years later, he and a group of colleagues from around the world formed Consortium of the Bethsaida Excavations Project to continue the work.
The consortium is housed at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where Arav serves as an assistant professor of history.
For more information, contact Aaron Gale, coordinator of WVU's Program for Religious Studies, at agale2@wvu.edu or 304-293-3641.