The page concerns the ancient site of Hippos-Sussita and the archaeological research conducted here by the Hippos (Sussita) Excavations Project, affiliated with the University of Haifa and partners from all over the globe. The ancient city of Hippos is located above the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, on the top of a flat mountain, 350 m above the lake. City and mountain are almost entirely i
solated from their surroundings, with just a narrow saddle leading towards the western slopes of the Golan Heights. Sussita, or as it was known by its Greek name, Antiochia Hippos, was founded after 200 BC, when the Seleucids seized the Land of Israel from the Ptolemies. During the Roman period, Hippos belonged to the Decapolis, ten cities which were regarded as centers of Greek culture in an area predominantly populated by Semitic peoples, i.e. By the 5th century CE, the majority of residents in the city were probably Christian, since it was a bishop's see within Palaestina Secunda. At least seven churches were built there. Hippos continued to exist until the mid-8th century, when it was destroyed by the catastrophic earthquake of CE 749 and never resettled. Following an archaeological survey conducted in 1999, it was decided to embark on a large-scale scientific project of excavations. Since then, each year, an excavation season is carried out. Between 2000-2011 the project was led by Arthur Segal and Michael Eisenberg of the Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa. Eisenberg, and as from 2016 it is c-directed by Michael Eisenberg and Arleta Kowalewska. Each season students and volunteers from various countries join the dig for a remarkable experience of unearthing an ancient city above the Sea of Galilee. All the illustrative material on the page (e.g. photos and videos) bear full intellectual property rights and any use of it, except for proper online sharing on social media (under the Meta guidelines and law), must be approved by the Hippos Excavations Project ([email protected]).
