BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

Has Dalmanutha from the Bible Been Found?

Archaeologists discover ancient town by the Sea of Galilee

An ancient town dated to the first century C.E. has been discovered during archaeological work conducted on the northwest coast of the Sea of Galilee, according to a report by LiveScience. The University of Reading’s Ken Dark, who led the field survey, believes the town might be identified as Dalmanutha, which is known only from the New Testament. According to the Gospel of Mark, after Jesus miraculously multiplied seven loaves of bread and a few fish to feed a crowd of 4,000, “immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha” (Mark 8:10).

The 2,000 year-old Galilee Boat discovered in 1986 was determined to have been found on the shoreline of a newly discovered town by the Sea of Galilee. Courtesy Berthold Werner.

Evidence indicates that this newly discovered coastal site was a thriving fishing town in the first century. Writing in the most recent issue of the journal Palestine Exploration Quarterly, Dark reports that the archaeological team found weights and stone anchors, while the presence of vessel glass and amphorae suggest some residents were prosperous. The researchers additionally determined that the so-called Galilee Boat, the famous 2,000 year-old boat discovered in a drought-stricken Sea of Galilee in 1986, was found on the shoreline of this fishing town. The southern side of the town lies only 500 feet away from the ancient town of Magdala, which may have been Mary Magdalene’s hometown.

While the identification of Dalmanutha remains tentative, the name has yet to be associated with any known archaeological site around the Sea of Galilee.

Read the report by LiveScience.

BAS Library members: Read “The Galilee Boat—2,000-Year-Old Hull Recovered Intact” by Shelley Wachsmann as it appeared in Biblical Archaeology Review.

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3 Responses

  1. Allan Rchardson says:

    What does this have to do with Noah’s Ark? The boat pictured is a typical fishing boat from the first century, such as the ones Peter and Andrew may have owned, and in which Jesus rode on the Sea of Galilee. There is no way to know whether it was THE one, of course (they didn’t have boat registration, the painted numbers would not have survived if they did, and Peter’s registration is not listed in the Gospels), but it is the only one found preserved so well to date.

  2. James says:

    the pope doesn’t even believe in Noah’s arc.

  3. kristin says:

    Fascinating I.believe in noahs ark but there r many that don’t.

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3 Responses

  1. Allan Rchardson says:

    What does this have to do with Noah’s Ark? The boat pictured is a typical fishing boat from the first century, such as the ones Peter and Andrew may have owned, and in which Jesus rode on the Sea of Galilee. There is no way to know whether it was THE one, of course (they didn’t have boat registration, the painted numbers would not have survived if they did, and Peter’s registration is not listed in the Gospels), but it is the only one found preserved so well to date.

  2. James says:

    the pope doesn’t even believe in Noah’s arc.

  3. kristin says:

    Fascinating I.believe in noahs ark but there r many that don’t.

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