Guide
Architecture of Ancient Jewish Houses and Palaces
4th Century BCE–6th Century CE
By Carol Bakhos
Related Primary Sources
Primary Source
Capernaum House
This reconstruction drawing depicts a first-century house in the village of Capernaum, on the west shore of the Sea of Galilee. The walls of the houses in Capernaum were made of coarse, undressed…
Primary Source
Ḥorvat ‘Ethri House
This reconstruction drawing of Ḥorvat ‘Ethri, a typical first-century village in the Judean hills south of Jerusalem, is based on excavations conducted at the site by the Israel Antiquities Authority…
Primary Source
Meiron House
This large, late Roman house in the village of Meiron, in upper Galilee, had two stories with several rooms each. The upper story served as living space and was accessed by a built staircase. The…
Primary Source
Katzrin House
This two-story late Roman and/or early Byzantine house in the village of Katzrin, to the northeast of the Sea of Galilee, is constructed of hewn basalt stones, as are almost all buildings in the Golan…
Primary Source
Ḥorvat Kanaf House
This reconstruction drawing shows a house in the village of Ḥorvat Kanaf, to the northeast of the Sea of Galilee, fronted by a courtyard with a staircase giving access to the roof. A “window wall”…
Primary Source
Khirbet Shema House
These plan and reconstruction drawings show a small house in the village of Khirbet Shema, in upper Galilee. The house had two stories, the upper serving as a living area and the lower as a workshop…