Golan Archaeological Museum
The Golan Archaeological Museum is a museum of the archaeological finds of the Golan Heights, located in the Israeli town of Katzrin.
The museum features artifacts from all historical periods.[1] Among these are artifacts and decorated architectural fragments from a number of Byzantine-period Christian churches and villages, including finds from Kursi, on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, which is identified with Gergasa, the New Testament site of the "Miracle of the Garadene Swine" (Luke 8:22-39).
A room in the museum is dedicated to the story of Gamla, the Jewish town besieged and razed by the Romans during the Great Jewish Revolt. A scale model and film are used to describe the conquest and destruction of the town and all of its inhabitants by Vespasian in 67 CE. On display are finds from the site of Gamla, including arrowheads, ballista stones, clay oil lamps, and coins minted in the town during the siege.
Other artifacts of note in the museum are the many columns, lintels and other architectural parts recovered from the ruins of ancient synagogues throughout the Golan. These are elaborately carves with dedicatory inscriptions and with Jewish symbols.
References
- ^ The Holy Land: an Oxford archaeological guide from earliest times to 1700, by Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, Oxford University Press US, 2008, p. 296