Gamla: Two mysteries — and a failed revolt

Gamla, a haunting ruin 15 kilometers* northeast of Hippos, came to a bad end. Two mysteries remain. The bad end, however, is no mystery. We know exactly what happened.

Just before the First Jewish Revolt in 66 CE**, Gamla (GAHM la) was a village of 4,000 or 5,000 people. Refugees fleeing from the fighting in the revolt probably doubled the population.

Diggers found seven coins made at Gamla with an inscription reading “For the redemption of Jerusalem.” An eighth coin was found far to the south in the Judean desert — probably carried there by someone fleeing the disaster at Gamla.


FIRST, THE MYSTERIES

More about that in a moment. First, the mysteries:

“We have a completely new kind of Jewish public building from the first century,” says Danny Syon, senior archaeologist with the Israel Antiquities Authority and an excavator at Gamla.

Until Gamla, archaeologists thought the only public building they would find in such Jewish villages was the synagogue. Gamla already has one synagogue. “Now,” says Syon, “we definitely have a public building — and we don’t know what it is.”

We do know that the 15 x 16 meter Gamla structure is a public building because of its three long central aisles leading to a podium — an area higher than the surrounding floor from which people could make speeches. The two side aisles are divided into rooms. “It might be a court,” says Syon.

The building style is “very impressive,” he adds. The structure has four columns and is built of large stones, larger than those used to build houses. “It cannot be a domestic building,” says Syon, “and it doesn’t have a large enough space for a congregation, so it is not a synagogue.”

Josephus, a Jewish historian who commanded Jewish forces in the revolt, reports that he set up courts in villages when he came to this area from Jerusalem. The Bible’s New Testament, however, says that courts were held in synagogues. Sometimes punishment was carried out in synagogues as well — whipping.

“So it could be that in some communities the synagogue served as the court, and maybe in others there was a specific building,” says Syon. “In Gamla, we have a building that might be just that.”


VACANT LOT?

Here’s the other mystery about Gamla: A part of the middle of the town that was full of people in the first century BCE** was abandoned about the end of the reign of King Herod the Great, who died in 4 BCE.

What happened to the mystery neighborhood? We don’t know. Was it cleared out by war? There is no evidence of fighting.

Whatever the reason, the 50 x 30 meter area was abandoned and never resettled. “It was an empty lot,” says Syon. “And that is a big enigma.”

What we do know is that, years after the mystery neighborhood was abandoned, a Jewish revolt against the Roman Empire failed.

Roman soldiers fought rebels throughout the Holy Land. In Gamla, Romans commanded by the future emperor, Vespasian, attacked Gamla by climbing across the roofs of the houses in such numbers that the roofs collapsed.


ARROWHEADS AND CATAPULTS


The Romans retreated, but attacked again later and destroyed the town.

Archaeologists found arrowheads and other evidence of the battle just inside and just outside the town’s wall.

Weapons also include ballista balls — stones that Roman catapults hurled against the walls to knock them down. Syon found about 2,000 ballista balls against the walls where they fell — and a pile inside the wall as well. The defenders may have gathered the smooth stones to throw back at the attackers.

The Romans eventually crushed the revolt. Fighting finally ended in 70 CE. Today you can climb the steep 330-meter hill where a busy village once stood — and think about that long-ago war and the mysteries of Gamla. — Marc Hequet

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* To change from kilometers to miles and to make other metric conversions, you can use this site from the state of Washington: www.wsdot.wa.gov/Metrics/factors.htm

** CE means “common era.” It’s the same as A.D., which means “anno Domini,” Latin for “in the year of our Lord.” BCE means “before common era.” It’s the same as “before Christ.”


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WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Here’s a list of terms from the story about Gamla.

First Jewish Revolt, from 66-70 CE, was a failed effort by the Jews to throw off rule by the Romans. The Jews revolted again from 132-135 CE — and again failed.

Refugees are people fleeing from war and other disasters.

Redemption (re DEMP shun) means to save something.

Excavators(EKS kah vay ters) dig up ancient sites.

Synagogue (SIN uh gog) is a place of worship for Jews. Jesus worshiped at synagogues in his hometown of Nazareth and other villages.

Columns (COLL ums) support the upper parts of ancient buildings. Columns allow builders to make buildings larger.

Material culture includes pottery, tools, buildings and other things left by ancient civilizations.

Enigma (en IG muh). A mystery.

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CAN YOU DIG IT?

Take this quiz to find out how much you learned about Gamla.

1. When did the First Jewish Revolt begin?

2. How do we know the large building in Gamla is a public building?

3. How do we know it is NOT a synagogue?

4. An American football field is 120 yards long and 53 1/3 yards wide. One yard equals 0.91 meter. Is Gamla’s abandoned neighborhood bigger than a football field? Or smaller?

5. How do we know there was a battle at Gamla?

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MEANWHILE, ELSEWHERE ON EARTH

Here’s what was happening elsewhere about the time of the First Jewish Revolt:

Mayas flourished in Central America. Ruins of a great city of the Maya are at El Mirador in northern Guatamala, with some of the Maya’s largest pyramids.

Ming Ti, an emperor of the Han dynasty, introduced Buddhism into China in 58 CE.

St. Peter, a founder of Christianity, may have been executed in Rome in 67 CE.

Nero (NEER oh) was the Roman emperor from 54-68 CE. Some blamed him for setting the fire that destroyed much of Rome in 64 CE. Nero, however, blamed the Christians, and executed many. Roman leaders feared his cruelty and eventually revolted. Nero took his own life in 68 CE.

Vespasian (Ves PAY zhun), the general who put down the revolt in Palestine, became the Roman emperor in 69 CE. In his reign the Roman Colosseum (kol uh SEE uhm) was built. Its ruin still stands in Rome.
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The information in "Meanwhile, Elsewhere" is from World Book Encyclopedia and other sources.