Galilee in the Late Second Temple and Mishnaic Periods by David A. Fiensy;James Riley Strange;

Author:David A. Fiensy;James Riley Strange; [Life, Culture, and Society]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 978-1-4514-8958-3
Publisher: Fortress Press (NBN)
Published: 2015-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

Common Patterns

Yeivin’s hypothetical medium-sized town, the village in rural Samaria described by Dar, and Khirbet Qana, the village in Lower Galilee, indicate common patterns. Most villages of any size had not only residences but also public and commercial buildings, agricultural structures (oil or wine presses), water reservoirs, and cemeteries outside the village. Yeivin’s composite village and the village in Samaria had an open space perhaps used on market days as temporary markets. (But as the reader will note below in table 5, none of the Galilean villages has exhibited such space for temporary markets.) They also had narrow, unpaved streets (that is, not paved with stone pavers) arranged in haphazard patterns, and no gates or walls.[54] The exception to the haphazard streets may have been some parts of Khirbet Qana and Yodefat. One Galilean town—Yodefat—in addition was fortified (given walls) in preparation for the revolt of 66–73 ce.[55]

By way of contrast, the Galilean cities Sepphoris and Tiberias were planned with streets in a grid pattern and with a Cardo or main street over 40 feet wide in each. Tiberias had a stadium for athletic games, a monumental gate, possibly a gymnasium, and a hippodrome. Sepphoris had a large basilica (115 x 130 ft), that is, a building used for government purposes (administration or law courts).[56] Finally, there may have been a theater built in Sepphoris in the first century ce, but the date of this structure is now debated.[57] The cities had spacious streets, formally designated marketplaces, large public buildings, large domestic quarters, and more comforts of life such as entertainment. To go from village to city was to cross into a new subculture.

The following table contrasts the Galilean cities and villages:

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