Discovery Channel's Expedition Unknown series will cover the land of Israel in its upcoming season, revealing an ancient site believed to be Bethsaida, the birthplace of three of Jesus Christ's 12 apostles and where Jesus himself supposedly performed miracles.
Included among the findings from Bethsaida is an inscription addressed to St. Peter, also known as Peter the Apostle, who is widely considered by most Christians to be the first pope.
This discovery was made in an archaeological excavation at Beit Habek (el-Araj), identified as the old Jewish village of Bethsaida, the birthplace of three of the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ.
Bethsaida: A site of miracles in the New Testament
As described in the Gospel of John in the New Testament, Bethsaida was the hometown of three of the apostles, Peter, Andrew and Philip.
Bethsaida is mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament as a place where Jesus performed miracles. The Gospel of Mark describes it as where Jesus restored sight to a blind man. The Gospel of Luke mentions it as the place where Jesus fed 5,000 people.
But what isn't known about this place is where it is.
Sources have always differed about its exact location, including ancient sources such as Josephus and Pliny the Elder. All, however, say it was somewhere in Israel's North.
Three locations have traditionally been linked to Bethsaida: Mesadiye, el-Araj and Et-Tell.
However, experts now say they have proof that el-Araj is, in fact, Bethsaida.
This discovery will be shown in the 11th season of Expedition Unknown, which is set to premiere on May 24.
But the research will follow up on work done by archaeologists from Kinneret College in Israel and Nyack College, NY.
This team, led by Prof. Mordechai Aviam and Prof. Steven Notley, found a large Greek inscription during excavations in a structure called the "Church of the Apostles" at the el Araj/Beit haBek dig. The structure dates back to the Byzantine period.
The inscription, which was translated by Prof. Leah Di Segni of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and Prof. Yaakov Ashkenazi of Kinneret College, references a donor "Constantine, the servant of Christ" a petition for St. Peter to pray on behalf of the person. The inscription refers to Peter as "chief and commander of the heavenly apostles."
The title "chief and commander of the heavenly apostles" is routinely used by Byzantine Christian writers to refer to the Apostle Peter, according to archaeologists.