Washington, September 19 (ANI): A team of archaeologists has discovered a 2000-year-old Roman amphitheatre near Tiberias in Israel.
According to a report in the Haaretz newspaper, Archeologist, Doctor Valid Atrash, from the Israel Antiquities Authority, said that the remnants of the Roman amphitheatre peaks from 15 meters below ground.
The 1990 findings came as a surprise to the archeologists digging near Mount Berniki in the Tiberias hills as there are no references to such a place anywhere in scriptures.
Only at the beginning of 2009, 19-years after the primary discovery, did the uncovering of the theatre in its entirety begin.
The late Professor Izhar Hirshfeld and Yossi Stefanski, the archeologists heading the excavation, initially assessed the remains to belong to the 2nd or 3rd century CE, but quickly realized that they go all the way back to the beginning of the 1st century CE, closer to the founding of Tiberias.
“The most interesting thing about the amphitheatre is its Jewish context,” said Hirshfeld upon the discovery.
“Unlike Tzipori, which was a multi-cultural city, Tiberias was a Jewish city under Roman rule. The findings demonstrate the city’s pluralistic nature and cultural openness, a fact uncommon in those days,” Hirshfeld added.
According to Atrash, in light of the findings, Tiberias appears as particularly liberal for a city that was established over 2000 years ago.
He added that “the theatre was enormous, and being so it attracted a lot of attention. It seated over 7000 people, and appears to have been a prominent landmark for the entire area.”
Zohar Oved, Mayor of Tiberias, said that the discovery of the amphitheatre is undoubtedly “one of the most important findings in the history of the Jewish people” and is planned to open to the public as part of Tiberias archeological gardens in the near future. (ANI)
Pak won’t allow US to cross ‘red line’ under any circumstances: FO
Islamabad, Sep.18 (ANI): Amid reports of a massive expansion of the US’ Islamabad embassy, Pakistan has said that it would never allow the American troops to carry out military operations from its soil.
Addressing a weekly briefing Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said Islamabad would not allow the US to cross the ‘red line’ under any circumstance.
“We would not allow, under any circumstances, operations by US forces inside Pakistan. We have conveyed this several times to our US interlocutors and this is one of our red lines,” Basit said.
Referring to US Chief of Army Staff Admiral Mike Mullen’s statement that Pakistan is facing a threat both from the east and the west, Basit said Mullen’s comments were true in the sense that Pakistan ‘has issues with India and is simultaneously battling terrorism on the western border.’
Commenting on the Obama Administration’s decision to maintain the long standing accountability measures over the aid being provided to Pakistan, he said Islamabad also supports ‘transparency and accountability at every stage’, but asked the US to reduce the administrative cost of the proposed assistance.
“What we have been saying is that we would like to reduce the administrative cost … so that it is cost-effective and maximum benefits reach the people of Pakistan,” The Daily Times quoted Basit, as saying.
When asked about the US Ambassador Anne Patterson’s claims that America has so far provided three billion dollars as aid to Pakistan, he said: “I would refer you to the Finance Ministry, since it is better placed to answer this question.”
He also refused comment on a report that claimed the Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US, Hussain Haqqani had leaked classified information to an Indian media house.
“As you used the word ‘reportedly’, it will not be appropriate for me to comment in public on such official matters,” Basit said. (ANI)