Students Unearth Christian Artifacts

Lara Eidemiller took part in an archaeological dig unearthing everyday items - from the time of King David.

In her hands was a bit of 2,300-year-old cooking pottery she had just found in one of the world’s most significant early Christian archaeological digs.

“It’s amazing that it made it this far,” said Eidemiller, a 17-year-old Homedale senior.

She is one of nine Idahoans who have returned from three weeks helping uncover the 3,000-year-old city of Bethsaida, near the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.

The trip was led by Denny Clark, philosophy and religion professor at Albertson College of Idaho in Caldwell.

Bethsaida is surrounded with stories of Jesus’ miracles.

Jesus is believed to have fed 5,000 with only a few loaves and fish near Bethsaida. The story of Jesus walking on water is thought to have happened nearby.

The earliest known depiction of a cross was uncovered on a piece of pottery at Bethsaida last summer. It dates to before 67 A.D., when the city was destroyed during the Jewish uprising against Rome. The earliest known cross depiction before the Bethsaida find was in about 300 A.D.

Clark plans to use some of the information he picked up at Bethsaida in classes this fall.

, DataTimes