Archaeology: Gergesa

The location of Gergesa has remained a mystery until recently. In 1970, Israeli archaeology Vassilios Tzaferis investigated the ruins of a byzantine church from A.D. 585 uncovered during road construction along the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee.

The excavations turned up an ancient church building, monastery, and chapels. A mosaic-paved chapel had been built at the foot of a steep slope, leading Dr. Tzaferis to conclude that the Christians had built the entire complex to preserve an early tradition that this was where the miracle occurred.

In Matthew 8:28-34, Christ casted demons out of two men into a herd of swine that ran down a steep place into the Sea of Galilee. Two other possible locations were thought to be Gadara or Gerasa (Mark 5:1-13; Luke 8:26-39) but both are located far from the Sea of Galilee or any steep place. The ruins of the El-Kursi monastery probably marks the location in Gergesa.

Kyle Campbell