Editing Capernaum (section)

==Archaeology==
[[File:Capernaum roman olive press by David Shankbone.jpg|thumb|left|Olive press from Roman times, different elements]]

===Discovery and excavation===
In 1838, American explorer [[Edward Robinson (scholar)|Edward Robinson]] discovered ruins which he identified as those of a synagogue, but he did not relate this to ancient Capernaum.<ref>[https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/8/6/4 Strange, James F. and Shanks, Hershel. "Has the House Where Jesus Stayed in Capernaum Been Found?", ''Biblical Archaeology Review'', vol.8, no. 6, November/December 1982]</ref> In 1866, [[Charles William Wilson]] identified the location (then known as Tel Hum) as Capernaum. In 1894, Franciscan Friar Giuseppe Baldi of [[Naples]], the [[Custodian of the Holy Land]], was able to purchase a good part of the land around the ruins. Additional land on the eastern portion of the site became the property of the [[Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem]].<ref name=Reed>{{harvnb|Reed|2002|p=142}}</ref>

In 1905, Germans Heinrich Kohl and [[Carl Watzinger]] began a study of Galilean synagogues.<ref>{{Cite journal |jstor=27931283|title=On the Chronology of the Ancient Synagogue at Capernaum |last=Chen |first=Doron |journal=[[Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins]] |year=1986 |volume=102 |pages=134–143}}</ref> These were continued by the [[Studium Biblicum Franciscanum|Franciscan Fathers]] Vendelin von Benden (1905–1915) and Gaudenzio Orfali (1921–1926). The excavations resulted in the discovery of two public buildings, the synagogue (which was partially restored by Orfali) and an octagonal church.<ref name=Reed /> 

In 1968, excavation of the western portion of the site—the portion owned by the Franciscans—was resumed by [[Virgilio Canio Corbo|Virgilio Corbo]] and [[Stanislao Loffreda]]. During this phase, the major discovery was that of a 1st-century house which is believed by Christians to be the home of Saint Peter.<ref name="IMFA1" /> These excavations have been ongoing, with some publication as recently as 2003.<ref>{{Cite web |title= Excavations at Capernaum 2003 - text |url=http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/sbf/arch/Capharnaum2003.html |access-date=17 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023061953/http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/sbf/arch/Capharnaum2003.html |archive-date=23 October 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The excavations revealed that the site was established at the beginning of the Hasmonean period, roughly in the 2nd century BC, and abandoned in the 11th century.<ref name="IMFA1" />

The eastern half of the site, which is owned by the Orthodox [[Monastery of the Holy Apostles]], centered on the red-domed Church of the Holy Apostles, was surveyed and partially excavated under the direction of [[Vassilios Tzaferis]]. This section has uncovered the village from the [[Timeline of the Palestine region#Byzantine|Byzantine]] and [[Timeline of the Palestine region#Early Muslim period|Early Arab]] periods. Features include a pool apparently used for the processing of fish, and a [[hoard]] of gold coins.<ref>Tzaferis, 1989.</ref>
[[File:Capernaum ruins by David Shankbone.jpg|thumb|Ruins of the Roman-period town]]

===General description===
On both sides of an ample north–south main street arose small districts bordered by small cross-sectional streets and no-exit side-streets. The walls were constructed with coarse [[basalt]] blocks and reinforced with stone and mud, but the stones (except for the thresholds) were not dressed, and [[Mortar (masonry)|mortar]] was not used.{{citation needed|date=April 2016}}

The most extensive part of the typical house was the courtyard, where there was a circular furnace made of refractory earth, as well as grain mills and a set of stone stairs that led to the roof. The floors of the houses were cobbled. Around the open courtyard, modest cells were arranged which received light through a series of openings or low windows.{{sfn|Loffreda| 1984}} Given the coarse construction of the walls, there was rarely a second story to a typical home,{{sfn|Reed|2002|p=151}} and the roof would have been constructed of light wooden beams and [[thatch]] mixed with mud. This, along with the discovery of stairs to the roof, recalls the story of the Healing of the Paralytic from {{bibleverse|Mark|2:4}}: "And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay".

A study of the district located between the synagogue and the octagonal church showed that several extended families clustered together, communally using the same courtyards and doorless internal passages. The houses had no hygienic facilities or drainage;{{sfn|Reed|2002|p=153}} the rooms were narrow. Most objects found were made of clay: pots, plates, amphoras, and lamps. Fish hooks, weights for fish nets, striker pins, weaving [[bobbin]]s, and basalt [[Millstone|mills]] for milling grain and pressing olives were also found.{{sfn|Loffreda|1974}}

As of the 4th century, the houses were constructed with good quality mortar and fine ceramics. This was about the time that the synagogue now visible was built.{{citation needed|date=April 2016}} Differences in social class were not noticeable. Buildings constructed at the founding of the town continued to be in use until the time of the town's abandonment.{{citation needed|date=April 2016}}