The ancient city of Hippos in northern Israel derives its name from the Greek word for “horse.” And yet, archeologists have yet to uncover racing grounds that might have once upon a time graced the place.

This glaring deficit aside, Hippos, or Sussita in Hebrew, is a stunning archeological site that recently became a national park in a bid to both make it more accessible and convenient for the public to visit and to safeguard the ruins and mosaics that adorn it.

“It’s a visually incredible and historically important archeological site,” Dror Ben-Yosef, northern district archeologist for the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, tells ISRAEL21c.

“The story of the city begins in the Hellenistic period in the third century BCE and grows and reaches its peak in the Roman period, when the city is planned and built according to what you could call the Roman standard, with everything that a city should have,” Ben-Yosef explains.

“Then, it becomes a distinctly Christian city during the Byzantine period. The city accordingly undergoes change, and seven churches – which we’ve uncovered – were built. The city began sliding back down with the Islamic conquest in the seventh century CE, and the last nail in its coffin was in 749, when a catastrophic earthquake shook the Land of Israel, and the city was destroyed and not settled again.”

What remains of Hippos, on the Golan Heights overlooking the Sea of Galilee, has been excavated for the past 30 years and has drawn growing numbers of visitors who’ve hiked up the mountain to marvel at the ruins.

This led the INPA to turn the site earlier this year into a proper national park with a visitors’ center, drinking water and shade.

Video source - Christian Media Center/Youtube - Image - Shutterstock