Hippos-Sussita of the Decapolis: The First Twelve Seasons of Excavations (2000–2011), Vol. 1
By Arthur Segal, Michael Eisenberg, Jolanta Młynarczyk, Mariusz Burdajewicz and Mark Schuler (Haifa, Israel: The Zinman Institute of Archaeology, 2013), 323 pp., $130 (hardcover)
If you ever find yourself in the area around the Sea of Galilee (or Kinneret, as the Israelis call it), I recommend that you visit a site overlooking the sea from on high. It was called Sussita and Hippos at different times, both meaning horse, because of its high thin profile above the sea. Go up on the sea side (you’ll need a 4-wheel drive), winding your way up, twisting and turning, until you reach the summit.
Sussita was one of the ten cities of the Hellenistic Decapolis in the second century B.C.E. Originally it was inhabited by worshipers of Greek gods and by some Jews, but in time it became a Christian city with at least eight imposing churches.
On January 18, 749 C.E., a powerful earthquake devastated the site. The columns in Sussita’s churches and other buildings fell like toothpicks. The largest of the churches, dubbed “the Cathedral,” formed an especially dramatic picture. Sussita was never inhabited again.
In 2000, a major modern archaeological excavation was begun and continues to this day. As a matter of fact, BAR had something to do with it. In 1990, we published an article on Sussita by archaeologist Vassilios Tzaferis, describing the history of its minimal archaeological exploration. Tzaferis concluded 056 his article: “Someday the archaeologist’s spade will bring Hippos [Sussita] back to life.” We titled the article “Sussita Awaits the Spade.”a
Fifteen years later, in an article we titled “The Spade Hits Sussita,” Arthur Segal, then director of the major new excavation of the site, explained how it started: “I sat in my study reading an article in BAR by Vassilios Tzaferis about Sussita, a dramatic site overlooking the Sea of Galilee … The BAR article was tantalizingly titled ‘Sussita Awaits the Spade.’ As I finished reading the article, I asked myself how it could be possible that no one was interested in excavating one of the best-preserved and most beautiful classical sites in the country. A few days later I proposed to my colleagues at the University of Haifa that we adopt Sussita as a project of our Department of Archaeology.”b
In 2015, the excavation will continue—its 16th season (http://hippos.haifa.ac.il). Arthur Segal, now retired, has turned the reins over to his former student Michael Eisenberg,c who was also the coauthor of the BAR article “The Spade Hits 057 Sussita.” They have recently published (together with other archaeologists and specialists1) a major report on their first 12 seasons.
This is not a book BAR readers will want to read, but it is one they will want to know about. It is an oversize, prompt, thorough scientific report of an archaeological excavation written by a team of professionals. And it includes some beautiful pictures, often in color.
The site includes a Hellenistic sanctuary, a forum, a small theater, a number of churches, numerous other structures and a standard main street known as the decumanus maximus.
Adjacent to one of the major churches (the “Northeast Church”) is a large domestic structure that includes an entrance hall, a peristyle court, a fountain plaza, a garden and other rooms. A blue-and-white geometric mosaic paved a floor. Inscribed in the mosaic of the entrance hall is a Greek inscription reading “Enter for good.” The excavators originally called this structure the Peristyle House, but now they call it the House of Tyche, because in the course of removing the destruction debris from a mosaic floor the excavators found a plastered limestone block on which was a partially preserved fresco of Tyche, the Greek goddess of fortune (the name means “luck” in Greek). Tyche was a popular deity of cities in the Hellenistic period, and so she appears to have been at Hippos-Sussita. She also appears on several city coins of Hippos-Sussita.
The excavation is ongoing, and we look forward to other reports in the coming years.—H.S.
Hippos-Sussita of the Decapolis: The First Twelve Seasons of Excavations (2000–2011), Vol. 1
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Arthur Segal and Michael Eisenberg, The Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Israel; Nurit Shtober-Zisu, Dept. of the Land of Israel Studies, University of Haifa, Israel; Estee Dvorjetski, Brookes University, Oxford, UK; Victoria Mesistrano, Dept. of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Israel; Jolanta Młynarczyk, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland; Marisusz Burdujewicz, The National Museum, Warsaw, Poland; Mark Schuler, Concordia University, St. Paul, MN; Stephen Chambers, Concordia Lutheran Seminary, Edmonton, Canada; Adam Lajtar, Institute of Archaeology, University of Warsaw, Poland; Ariel Berman, Kiryat Tiveon, Israel; Ewa Radziejowska, The National Museum, Warsaw, Poland; Julia Burdajewicz, Warsaw, Poland.
