Israeli archaeologists discover ancient Samaritan agricultural estate

Archaeologists in Israel have discovered a big Samaritan agricultural estate in a town related to the biblical figure Simon the Sorcerer.

Simon is described within the book of Acts as a person with magical powers, who upon seeing the miracles of disciples like Peter becomes a Christian. He is strongly reprimanded by Peter nevertheless when he asks if he should buy from him the flexibility to offer the Holy Spirit to others.

His sin gave birth to the church term “simony”, meaning the buying and selling of church offices.

Simon is believed to have founded a Gnostic sect and to have been succeeded by a Samaritan magician called Menander, born in the location of Kh. Kafr Hatta, central Israel, where the agricultural estate was found.

The excavation is a joint effort by the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Israeli Ministry of Construction and Housing, which is constructing a latest housing development in the realm. 

The agricultural estate is believed to have existed for about 400 years from across the 4th to seventh centuries AD, during Roman and Byzantine rule.

The Israel Antiquities Authority excavation directors, Alla Nagorsky and Dr. Daniel Leahy Griswold, said, “The size and splendor of the buildings discovered, the standard of their mosaic floors and the impressive agricultural installations, all point to the good wealth and prosperity of the local Samaritan community over time.”

As well as mosaics and fruit decorations, an olive press, a warehouse and a public purification bath were also found.

Nagorsky said, “This kind of olive press is more typical of the Jerusalem region and the Judean Shephelah and is less common in Samaria.

“The wealth and luxury of the buildings were replaced by oil production and agricultural installations. New partitions damaged the mosaic floors, and the magnificent capitals and columns were integrated inside the latest partitions.”

In the fifth and sixth centuries the Samaritans rebelled against Byzantine rule, resulting in the destruction of many Samaritan sites. The estate, nevertheless, appears to haven’t only survived the rebellions but to have maintained the Samaritan culture, which was under threat from the Byzantine emperors.

Nagorsky says, “This is a captivating site, which displays the historical gamut between the times of prosperity and the decline of the Samaritan community. Its long-term existence and impressive findings will allow us to reconstruct its history over centuries and can enrich our knowledge about this population in precedent days.”