We are continuing to expose the Roman theater in Tiberias. An impressive monumental staircase was uncovered that leads to a building with a mosaic floor on which there are Greek dedicatory inscriptions that apparently date to the third-fourth centuries CE.Two construction phases were discerned in the theater. The first probably dates to the time when the city was founded and the second is from the second or third century CE, when the theater was significantly enlarged.
A segment of the circumferential corridor was excavated that separates the lower and middle set of seats. Two vomitoria were exposed that were used to enter the circumferential corridor from outside the theater. We are continuing to excavate the residential quarter from the Abbasid period that was built above the remains of the theater.
While removing the Abbasid layer a unique fountain was exposed. Right now we are exposing the theater’s stage.
We have finished uncovering the residential neighborhood from the Abbasid period that was built above the remains of the Roman theater. A paved street and two alleys with about ten houses around them were exposed in the neighborhood. The houses were well-planned and built in a stepped fashion in order to conform to the slope of the theater’s seating system. The walls of the houses, which were built of basalt, were founded on the remains of the theater’s seats and on a layer of alluvium that sealed the surface of the orchestra. All of the houses had the same plan, which included an open courtyard; some of the courtyards also had a garden. The rooms in the houses were usually arranged along two sides of the courtyard, and sometimes on just one side. There were various installations in the courtyard such as a sunken pool and tabuns. Staircases were also built alongside the courtyard and these led to the building’s second story. A very interesting fountain was exposed in the courtyard of one of the houses. The fountain was hexagonal; its floor was made of marble and its walls were treated with hydraulic plaster. A ceramic pipe, 9 centimeters in diameter, was built into the foundation of the fountain’s walls and it followed the exact same outline of the fountain (hexagonal). At the top of the pipe was a vertical pipe that supplied the system with water. Connected to the vertically built water supply system, were six pipes, 4 centimeters in diameter, which were located in the six corners of the fountain. In the floor of the pool was a ceramic drainage pipe that re-circulated the water through the system.
Upon completing the exposure of the Abbasid neighborhood we began to uncover all of the theater. Three construction phases were discerned in the theater: the first phase dates to the beginning of the first century CE, based on the construction style of the walls. It seems that the theater was erected at the time that the city of Tiberias was founded in the year 18 CE. During this phase the theater was 47 meters in diameter, was 60 meters wide and had two blocks of seats that faced north. In the second phase, in the second century CE, the theater was enlarged with the addition of another block of seats (summa cavea). The theater was made 9 meters wider on the side where the seats were situated. It now measured 55 meters in diameter and 78 meters wide. In the third phase, during the Byzantine period (the end of the fourth century CE), the upper block of seats (summa cavea) was canceled and the stage was rebuilt; however, the theater, which was reduced in size, apparently continued to be used for events. While excavating the seating system we have uncovered the remains of the lower block of seats (ima cavea) and a section of the peripheral corridor (ambulacrum) which separates the lower and middle seating systems. So far we have revealed two vomitoria that were used to enter the circumferential corridor from outside the theater. In the lower zone four rows of seats have survived, and a podium that is 1.10 meters high is built in front of it. The podium is built of two courses of basalt stone and the upper course was topped with a limestone cornice. The seats in the lower block were made of two parts consisting of a basalt course topped with a cornice. In the bottom two rows of seats the cornice was made of limestone whereas in the third row it was basalt. The lower block of seats (ima cavea) was divided by six radial staircases (scalaria) into five wedge-like blocks (cunei) and two boxes of honor (tribunalia) situated above the two covered passages (maximi aditus) that were not preserved. In the center block of seats (cunei) was a built tribunalia that was reached by a staircase which was constructed on the orchestra (this staircase was probably built in the Byzantine period).
The orchestra was exposed; it is slightly more than semi-circular in shape (18 meters in diameter) and paved with limestone flagstones. It was surrounded by a continual stone parapet and sections of its foundation have survived. This parapet served as a kind of wall that separated the orchestra from the peripheral passage at the foot of the landing (balteus). The balteus separated the stone parapet from the front wall of the lower block of seats (ima cavea). This landing was semi-circular (width 1 meter) in shape and paved with limestone flagstones, a few sections of which have survived. Two symmetric passages (aditus maximus), opposite each other, led to the orchestra. The two passages separated the seating area from the side wings of the stage house. The passages were paved with basalt flagstones. A staircase that led to the peripheral passage (ambulacrum) was built in the center part of the aditus maximus and on the southern walls.
Remains of the stage structure (scaenae) and the side wings of the stage house (versurae) that close off the stage at its two short ends were exposed. The stage house was built of two massive parallel walls with a 3 meter wide space in between them. The southern of the two walls constituted the front wall of the stage house (scaenae frons), whereas the northern wall was the outer wall of the theater. There were three openings in the front wall of the stage house: the center opening (valvae regiae) and two secondary openings (hospitalia). Podiums (podia) stood opposite the wall sections between the three openings at the front of the stage house, and symmetrical apses were fashioned in the two podiums set between the openings. There were columns on these podiums which bore a system of beams that adorned the front wall of the stage house. It is important to note that architectural elements were discovered in the excavation that belong to the decoration on the front wall of the stage house; these include Corinthian capitals, architraves, friezes and cornices, all of which are made of limestone. The stage (6 x 30 m) was partly paved with limestone and basalt flagstones. It seems that this floor was built at the end of the fourth century CE. The front wall of the stage (proscenium)was discovered in its entirety and was decorated with alternating rectangular and semi-circular niches. In three of the rectangular niches, which were located in the center, are built staircases consisting of five steps that connect the orchestra with the stage. Remains of the side wing of the stage (versurae) were exposed in the northwestern corner of the stage house. In the northeastern corner of the stage house an impressive staircase was exposed that led to a structure with a mosaic floor in which there is a Greek dedicatory inscription that probably dates to the third-fourth century CE.
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