(Sergio) I think I found something.
- (Rhoda) What did you find? - (Sergio) No way!
Wow!
Man, 2,000 years and this could be the thing.
Wait! It's something big and it's huge.
It's like a square and it's a rock.
This could be a temple rock.
You know, if they... The synagogue is right there,
so if the they took it by the boat or something,
they dropped it, I don't know, used it as an anchor.
I don't know, but this is huge!
Wait a second.
(Rhoda) Get it out. Get it out.
Oh.
(Sergio) Oh.
That's concrete.
♪ (music) ♪
(Rhoda) Today, we are visiting Magdala,
the town of Mary Magdalene.
Archaeologists have evidence that Magdala was, in fact,
a town on the regularly traveled path to Capernaum
which Jesus and many others would have taken.
A 1st century Jewish town
from the times of Jesus.
That's right.
They excavated this place in 2009,
so just a few years ago.
We've got mikvehs, ritual baths, rooms,
almost a full city excavated only a few years ago.
This has been buried for 2,000 years.
Quite incredible.
So the mikvehs, you go down on one side,
you bathe in the water, you get purified,
and then you walk out.
Usually, for the more fancy ones, they have two sets of stairs
so you can walk out and you don't touch
a defiled person on the way out.
Unless, it's a private one, they you're not
in fear of colliding with somebody who is defiled.
So you would go down defiled,
get purified in the water, come out clean.
Here, they also found the most ancient synagogue in Galilee.
And take a look at how well-preserved
all the artifacts are.
(Rhoda) These ruins were actually discovered
by the Pontifical Institute of Notre Dame
as a result of a project construction
of pilgrim accommodations and a sanctuary.
The sanctuary is two floors high
and is divided into a few spaces.
A beautiful entrance hall decorated with eight pillars
devoted for the female disciples of Jesus then and now.
This hall is surrounded by four smaller sanctuary rooms,
with mosaics on the wall.
Although on site
there is an original 1st century synagogue,
yet, they have built a replica one
on the bottom floor that can be used.
The main sanctuary has a unique altar
shaped as a 1st century fishing boat
with a gorgeous view of the Sea of Galilee behind it.
The setting takes us back to the time
when Jesus preached from the boat.
So, according to the tradition,
the most important economic activity in Magdala,
during the 1st century, was fishing.
Flavius Josephus, the historian from that time,
mentions that there was a large fleet of boats
right in the harbor of Magdala.
And it's interesting because you're saying:
Well, where is the water? Right?
If this is the harbor, where is the water?
Well, today, the level of the lake
is the lowest since the 1920s.
There were years when the lake was much higher than today,
and the water would come much closer,
all the way up to here.
But nowadays,
we have to walk quite a distance to get to the water,
which is exactly what we're going to do right now.
See that tree line?
That's where the water used to be three years ago.
And today,
we have to walk quite far to get to the water,
which can only mean one thing:
That potentially we could find some excavations
revealed by all this dry land.
Well, this is the Sea of Galilee
at its lowest point since 1920,
exposing shores that haven't been walked upon
since about a hundred years ago.
Pretty cool.
(Sergio) Do you see any archaeological findings?
- (Rhoda) Not yet. - (Sergio) Wait, wait. What is this?
Babe, I found something.
(Rhoda) What is it?
So, if you have any idea what this is,
leave a comment below and tell us.
It doesn't look that old
because I don't see that much corrosion.
So, we've got something here.
This looks like a shoe from the...
(Rhoda yells)
What?
- (Rhoda) I found something! - (Sergio) Where? Where?
(Rhoda) What is it?
- (Sergio) No way! - (Rhoda) What is it?
It looks pretty cool.
(Sergio) So there is the chain.
It's really small.
(Rhoda) Wow.
So maybe it's been here for a long time.
So, we're walking in the water
that Jesus walked
I found something!
I think this is ancient Greek.
It's Timberland, babe!
Do you see how still it is?
I mean, there is not even one single wave or...
Like, the only movement is what we are doing here.
It's so still.
And yet, imagine the story
of this being in complete uproar and a storm.
I have a friend, Yossi, who told me a story.
He used to work in Tiberias.
He never believed this lake could have those giant waves,
as in the story with Jesus,
until he saw them for himself.
And he described them really, really big.
And I've seen some high waves out here as well.
So, we found this rock in the Lake of Galilee.
If you would like this rock,
comment below and tell us: I want this rock,
and we'll ship it to you by the Israeli post mail.
It's not that heavy, about half a pound,
so it should get there.
It might take a while, but it'll get there.
Just do not include your email or address in the comment
lest you get lots of spam mail.
- And stalkers. - And stalkers.
What if five people say they want it?
That's a good one.
So, the first person to make the comment
"I want this rock" will get it.
No, this is nothing.
You guys, tell me what you think.
It's not what you think, you guys.
This is not trespassing, this is...
(Rhoda) Sergio is trespassing.
(Sergio) In Israel, signs are merely recommendations,
so it's more like for goats not to go in.
That there...
(sighs)
(Rhoda) What did you just do?
Confess your actions.
Uh...
that was a private territory, so I had to get out.
(distant metal clunk) I did a good... thing.
Elijah. Elijah?
(Rhoda) Babe, what if somebody lives in there?
Moishe? Moishe?
He's not home.
We'll try him next time.
(Rhoda) What if we encounter a sinkhole?
Keep moving.
Jump.
Good job, girl!