Overlooking the Sea of Galilee, the site of Hippos-Sussita witnessed nearly a millennium of civilization (from the second century B.C.E. to the mid-eighth century C.E.). The recent discovery of a decorated brass weight sheds additional light on a complex chapter of the site’s history: the seventh century C.E., when its predominantly Christian inhabitants were under Islamic control. In 2013, archaeologists found the weight in the remains of a Byzantine church at Hippos-Sussita. A large stain—thought at first to be dirt—covered its front. A recent analysis, however, shows that the stain was actually made of a metallic paste (of tin […]