G. Solar, P. Bugod and E. Figuaredo

The heart of Beth-Shean. At the top of the plan above is the tell, first inhabited some 6,000 years ago. By the third century B.C., the city had spilled over to the base of the tell. Nestled there in the Roman period (first century B.C.–fourth century A.D.) were four public buildings: a temple; a fountain; a basilica; and a monument structure. Two colonnaded streets lined with shops led to these buildings from the southeast and southwest. One led to a huge theater. To the west of that street was a large bathhouse. At the northern corner of the bathhouse stood an odeon, a small theater in which the Tyche mosaic was found. Not shown on this plan is the oval amphitheater, located about 1,500 feet south of the buildings at the base of the tell.