Northern District

Ancient Ruins and Historical Sites

Northern Israel serves as a crossroads of civilizations, preserving thousands of years of human history through its diverse archaeological remains. This collection features the UNESCO-listed Tel Megiddo with its 26 occupational layers and the Roman-Byzantine ruins of Susita overlooking the Sea of Galilee. Explore significant religious sites like the Capernaum fishing village and the Beit Alfa synagogue mosaics. The region also hosts formidable medieval fortifications, including the Crusader castles of Belvoir and Montfort, alongside the extensive rock-cut necropolis of Beit She’arim.

Ancient Ruins and Historical Sites — Map

A

Tel Megiddo National Park

A UNESCO World Heritage site featuring 26 layers of ancient civilizations. Notable for its massive Iron Age water system, Bronze Age temples, and strategic location overlooking the Jezreel Valley, often identified with biblical Armageddon.

B

Beit She`arim

Beit She'arim Necropolis is an extensive rock-cut necropolis located near the ancient Jewish town of Beit She'arim, 20 km east of Haifa in…

David Shankbone / CC-BY-SA-3.0

C

Capernahum

Capernaum was a fishing village established during the time of the Hasmoneans, located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Anatavital / CC BY-SA 3.0

D

Beit Alfa Ancient Synagogue

Beth Alpha is an ancient former Jewish synagogue, located at the foot of the northern slopes of the Gilboa mountains near Beit She'an, in…

Davidbena / CC BY-SA 4.0

E

Korazim

Ruins of an ancient Jewish village built from local black basalt. It features a well-preserved 4th-century synagogue containing a carved "Seat of Moses" and intricate stone reliefs of mythological and floral motifs.

Herwig Reidlinger / CC-BY-SA-3.0

F

Kokhav HaYarden

Belvoir Castle, also called Coquet by the Crusaders, also Kochav HaYarden and Kawkab al-Hawa, is a Crusader castle in northern Israel, on a…

אור פ / Cc-by-sa-3.0

G

Montfort

Montfort is a ruined Crusader castle in the Upper Galilee region in northern Israel, about 22 miles northeast of the city of Haifa and 10…

Gary Todd / CC0

H

Ein Mallaha

ʿAin Mallaha or Eynan was an Epipalaeolithic settlement belonging to the Natufian culture, occupied circa 14,326–12,180 cal. BP.

I

Susita

Also known as Hippos, this Decapolis city sits on a plateau overlooking the Sea of Galilee. Archaeological remains include a Roman forum, a colonnaded street, and several Byzantine churches with detailed mosaic floors.

Bukvoed / CC BY 3.0

J

Horbat Minnim

Khirbet Minya, also known as Qasr al-Minya or Ayn Minyat Hisham in Arabic and Horvat/Hurvat Minnim in Hebrew, is an Umayyad-built qasr in…

דוידוד / CC BY-SA 3.0

K

Tel Kedesh

Kedesh was an ancient Canaanite and later Israelite settlement in Upper Galilee, mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible.

Bukvoed / CC BY 3.0

L

Jacob's Ford

Chastelet was a castle located beside Jacob's Ford, a ford of the upper Jordan River in Israel.

XeresNelro / CC BY-SA 4.0

M

Tel Beit Shean

The archaeological mound overlooking the extensive Roman-Byzantine city. It contains remains of an Egyptian governor's house from the 12th century BCE and was the biblical site where King Saul's body was displayed after his defeat.

Hanay / CC BY-SA 3.0

N

Cainan palace

Located within the Megiddo archaeological site, these Middle Bronze Age ruins represent a massive Canaanite palace complex. The structure features thick stone walls and a central courtyard typical of 18th-century BCE architecture.

אור פ / CC BY-SA 3.0

O

Tel Shalem

Site of an early 2nd-century Roman legionary camp. It is historically significant as the location where a rare bronze statue of Emperor Hadrian was discovered, alongside evidence related to the Bar Kokhba revolt.