Posted on 05/31/21
| News Source: i24
Excavation directors say basilica founded by Herod the Great, Roman client king of Judea
The Israel Antiquities Authority recently unearthed a massive 2,000-year-old Roman basilica (public building), the largest in Israel, during excavations at Tel Ashkelon Park, the Nature and Parks Authority announced on Monday.
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The archaeological dig was conducted as part of an extensive redevelopment effort in the national park, led by the Nature and Parks Authority, the Ashkelon municipality and the Leon Levy Foundation.
The finds, which also include an ancient odeon (theater), were revealed to the public for the first time and will be open to visitors at the southern Israel site soon.The Israel Antiquities Authority said that the basilica was first discovered in the 1920s by British archaeologist John Garstang who covered it up. Work on the site did not start again until a few years ago.