El-Araj (Bethsaida-Julias candidate)

Overview

El-Araj is a low site on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee that R. Steven Notley and Mordechai Aviam have excavated over ten seasons (to 2026) as the most likely location of Bethsaida, the fishing village the Gospels name as home of Peter, Andrew and Philip, which Josephus says Herod Philip raised to a city called Julias. Their excavation has exposed Roman-period houses with finds running from the 1st century BCE to the 3rd century CE, and, above them after a gap of about two centuries, a Byzantine basilica found in 2021.

Three Greek inscriptions were set in the basilica's mosaic floor. One names 'the chief of the apostles and the keeper of the keys of the heavenly spheres', titles the editors (Di Segni, Ashkenazi, Aviam and Notley 2023) take as referring to Peter. They identify the building with the church that the pilgrim Willibald saw in 725 CE at 'Bethsaida, whence came Peter and Andrew', built where their house had stood, and argue that the Byzantine church therefore marks where Byzantine Christians placed Bethsaida.

In July 2025 a wildfire burned across the site for three days and cleared the vegetation, exposing Roman-period architectural pieces (column drums, Corinthian and Doric capitals, cornices). The tenth season (July-August 2026) worked the Roman level (2nd-3rd century CE) in Areas D, F and G and reported coin hoards (150+ coins), Herodian lamps, chalk/stone vessels, fishing weights, frescoed walls, fine glass and a half Doric capital. The rival candidate, et-Tell about 2 km away, has been excavated as Bethsaida since 1987 by Rami Arav.

What the text says (summary)

The basilica's mosaic floor carried three Greek inscriptions. The one reported in the editors' abstract names 'the chief of the apostles and the keeper of the keys of the heavenly spheres' (titles of Peter). It does not name Peter or Bethsaida. The other two inscriptions' contents were not seen for this entry.English phrase from the abstract of Di Segni, Ashkenazi, Aviam and Notley, Liber Annuus 73 (2023) 365-384; no public-domain translation exists (found 2021).

What the evidence shows

• Josephus, Ant. 18.2.1 (18.28), Whiston trans.: Philip 'advanced the village Bethsaida, situate at the lake of Gennesareth, unto the dignity of a city ... and called it by the name of Julias, the same name with Caesar's daughter.'
• Willibald, Hodoeporicon ch. XIV (725 CE), Brownlow trans., PPTS 3 p. 16: 'And thence they proceeded to Bethsaida, whence came Peter and Andrew. There is now a church where their house was formerly. They stayed there one night.'
• Byzantine basilica with mosaic floor found at el-Araj in 2021 (Di Segni et al. 2023 abstract).
• Three Greek inscriptions in the mosaic; one mentions 'The chief of the apostles and the keeper of the keys of the heavenly spheres' (Di Segni et al. 2023 abstract). The project's 2026 post quotes it as 'the chief of the Apostles and the keeper of the keys of heaven'.
• The inscription does not contain the name Bethsaida or Peter; the link to Peter rests on the titles.
• Roman-period remains beneath the church and elsewhere span the 1st century BCE to the 3rd century CE, followed by an occupation gap of about two centuries before the church (Di Segni et al. 2023 abstract).
• The July 2025 wildfire exposed column drums, two Corinthian and two Doric capitals, cornices and house foundations (Times of Israel, 30 Aug 2025).
• Season 10 (2026) finds: 150+ coins in several hoards, three intact Herodian lamps, a discus lamp (2nd-3rd c. CE), chalk/stone vessels, fishing weights, frescoed walls, fine glassware, a half Doric capital (project season reports, 1 and 8 Aug 2026).
• No inscription found at el-Araj names the settlement.

Open questions

• Which site is Bethsaida. Notley (Near Eastern Archaeology 70:4, 2007: 220-230) argued in 'Et-Tell Is Not Bethsaida'; Arav (Near Eastern Archaeology 74:2, 2011: 92-100) answered in 'Bethsaida - A Response to Steven Notley'. The specific arguments in those two papers were not read for this entry (titles and pagination confirmed via Crossref only). What the el-Araj team puts forward (Di Segni et al. 2023): Roman-period occupation 1st c. BCE - 3rd c. CE at el-Araj plus a Byzantine church with Petrine titles matching Willibald's church. What stands against a simple equation on their own evidence: the two-century gap between the Roman and Byzantine phases, so the church shows where Byzantine Christians placed Bethsaida, not directly where the 1st-century village was.
• Is the Roman town Julias as well as Bethsaida? Josephus (Ant. 18.28) says Philip made the village a city named Julias. The excavators read the architectural pieces (Corinthian/Doric capitals, cornices) and site size as fitting a polis and the stone vessels as marking a Jewish population (season 10 reports, 2026). No inscription or civic building naming Julias has been reported.
• Date of the basilica: Notley (Novum Testamentum 64:4, 2022) calls it a 6th-century basilica; the Times of Israel report (2025) calls it fifth-century. The published sources seen do not state the dating evidence.
• Capernaum vs el-Araj as the house of Peter: Notley (NovT 2022) argues the el-Araj finds challenge the 1921 identification (by Orfali) of the octagonal church at Capernaum as built over Peter's house. The Gospels place Peter's house at Capernaum (Mark 1:21, 29) while John 1:44 calls Bethsaida his town; both traditions sit in the text.

Since 2024

• 2025-07Three-day wildfire swept the site, destroyed equipment and exposed Roman-period architectural members (capitals, drums, cornices). [4]
• 2025-10Season 9 fall session (Oct-Nov 2025): Hasmonean walls, lamps and Roman strata reached beneath Byzantine floors, per project posts. [3]
• 2026-07US State Department cultural-heritage grant ceremony (Ambassador Mike Huckabee) to conserve the basilica; tenth season opened. [3]
• 2026-08Season 10 closed: 150+ coins, three intact Herodian lamps, chalk/stone vessels, fishing weights, half Doric capital in the 2nd-3rd c. CE level. [3]
• 2025-12Peter Kucera, Looking for the Bethsaida of the Gospels (Brill), a book-length study of the Bethsaida sources; confirmed via Crossref only, conclusions not read. [8]

Sources

1. Di Segni, L., Ashkenazi, J., Aviam, M. and Notley, R. S. 2023. "The Greek Inscriptions from 'The Church of St. Peter' at Bethsaida (el-'Araj)." Liber Annuus 73: 365-384. doi:10.1484/J.LA.5.141408 link editio princeps
2. Notley, R. S. 2022. "Byzantine Bethsaida and the House of St. Peter." Novum Testamentum 64(4): 532-551. doi:10.1163/15685365-bja10031 link study
3. El-Araj Excavation Project (Bethsaida-Julias), season 10 reports, July-August 2026: 'Our tenth season in the search of the lost city of the Gospels' (9 July 2026); 'Season 10: S02 W3 summary' (Aug 2026); 'Season 10: S02 WO4 summary - the final week of excavations' (Aug 2026). link excavation report
4. Tercatin, R. "Ruins revealed by wildfire boost Galilean site's claim as New Testament's Bethsaida." Times of Israel, 30 Aug 2025. link study
5. Notley, R. S. 2007. "Et-Tell Is Not Bethsaida." Near Eastern Archaeology 70(4): 220-230. doi:10.1086/NEA20361336; and Arav, R. 2011. "Bethsaida - A Response to Steven Notley." Near Eastern Archaeology 74(2): 92-100. doi:10.5615/neareastarch.74.2.0092 link study
6. Brownlow, W. R. (trans.) 1891/1896-97. The Hodoeporicon of Saint Willibald (c. 754 CE). Library of the Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society vol. 3. London. Ch. XIV, p. 16. link translation
7. Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 18.2.1 (18.28), trans. W. Whiston. link translation
8. Kucera, P. 2026 (online 22 Dec 2025). Looking for the Bethsaida of the Gospels. Leiden: Brill. doi:10.1163/9789004748965 (chapters incl. 'The Toponym Bethsaida' pp. 13-26; 'Extra-Biblical Sources on Bethsaida and Julias' pp. 27-89; 'The Seven References to Bethsaida in the Canonical Gospels' pp. 90-240) link study

Checked against new publications through 2026-09.