A group of archaeologists claim they have identified a site mentioned in the Bible, where Jesus is said to have performed a miracle near the Sea of Galilee.
For years, archaeologists and theologians have been dedicated to locating sites and artifacts referenced in the Bible.
The ongoing discussion about whether the Christian religious text is a historical account or a fictional work intended for teaching is fueled by efforts to discover these biblical locations, thereby supporting the argument for its authenticity.
Recently, news emerged that an archaeologist and his team are convinced they’ve uncovered an area cited in the gospels of Matthew, Luke, and Mark.
Dr. Scott Stripling, leading the excavation efforts for the Associates for Biblical Research (ABR), elaborated on their findings in a YouTube video.
The Bible story they believe they’ve substantiated describes Jesus performing an exorcism, transferring demons into a herd of pigs near the Sea of Galilee.
The story, as documented in Matthew, Luke, and Mark, tells of Jesus traveling by boat from the west to the east side of the Sea of Galilee, where he came across a man possessed by a ‘legion’ of demons.
The demons pleaded to be transferred into a nearby herd of pigs, which subsequently ran off a cliff and drowned.
Stripling explained: “All three gospels say there was a cliff nearby. All three say there were tombs nearby.
“And they tell us that Jesus was coming in on a boat from the west side to the east side.”
Stripling and his team used data from a 1985 excavation, which cataloged numerous ancient harbors around the Sea of Galilee, to pinpoint the location.
Identifying the harbor was crucial in hypothesizing where the biblical event may have occurred.
This investigation led them to Kursi, a small town in Golan Heights, Israel.
In 2023, Stripling and his team donned scuba gear to explore underwater in search of a submerged harbor.
“We felt the stones before we saw them,” Stripling said.
“Massive, dressed blocks forming twin piers, classic harbor construction.
“From the harbor, every biblical detail aligns within a 656-foot radius.”
The route described in the Bible, with Jesus departing Capernaum to reach the lake’s eastern side, aligns geographically with Kursi.