“Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida” (John 1-44), and it was in Bethsaida that Jesus cured a blind man by spitting on his eyes and laying on his hands (Mark 8-22–25) and where he fed the multitude (Luke 9-10–15). Though an important Christian site, Bethsaida disappeared after its destruction by the Romans during the First Jewish Revolt (66-70 A.D.), not to be found again until the summer of 1987, when Rami Arav of the University of Nebraska at Omaha began excavating north of the Sea of Galilee. He uncovered a Hellenistic and Roman-era residential quarter; on a subsequent dig he and his team found an Iron Age city that contained the largest and best-preserved city gate yet discovered in Israel from that period.
Also found there was a silver coin depicting Zeus on his throne.
“2006 Digs,” BAR Jan-Feb 2006.