​The Galilee Boat from Jesus times

During a severe drought that resulted in the lowering of the water level of the Sea of Galilee, two brothers from Kibbutz Ginosar that is set on the seashore, noted a vessel that had been buried in the exposed seabed. The brothers did not know at the time that they stumbled upon one of the more unique vessels ever been found and which is directly connected to the new testimony. The Israeli Antiquities Authority, assisted by many volunteers, rescued the boat in a remarkable excavation and successfully floated it to the Kibbutz museum, where it underwent an extensive carefully monitored eleven-year long conservation process. Based on a study of several dating criteria the Galilee Boat is firmly dated to the first centuries BCE-CE. An analysis of the vessel structure suggests that this is the type of boat referred to in the Gospels in use among Jesus' Disciples, as well as that used by the Jews against the Romans in the nautical Battle of Migdal in 67 CE. This humble vessel is, thus, a remarkable porthole into the past providing a clearer view of the Galilean seafaring that forms the backdrop to Jesus' ministry. In February, 2000 fourteen years after its excavation, the boat moved to its permanent home, in a special wing of the Yigal Allon Centre on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, were it is displayed and vested by numerous archeologists and pilgrims every year.

Bet Ygal Alon, Kibbutz Ginosar

Underwater Antiquities

The Israeli coasts have been a nursery for maritime civilizations since the Pre- Pottery Neolithic period, and the first Mediterranean fishing villages, emerged on these coasts during the 9th millennium BC. During historical periods the Israeli coast had been a crossroad and a busy trading route of many civilizations. Thousands of years of commerce, fishing, seafaring and naval warfare, have left an abundance of archaeological remains and artifacts on the coasts and sea beds of the Mediterranean, the Sea of Galilee, the Dead Sea and the Red Sea. The finds include shipwrecks and cargoes, ports and anchorage sites, submerged prehistoric settlements and rock-cut coastal installations. Thus the Israeli underwater archaeological heritage represents an important chapter in the history of humanity, and is associated with the beginning of agriculture and the emergence of the three major monotheistic religions. The archaeological evidence obtained from the submerged sites enabled the reconstruction of prehistoric environments and provide valuable information concerning the material cultures, economy and subsistence of coastal entities in historic times.

Israeli Antiquity Authority

Video by Gil Arbel