Lost site of famed Jesus miracle described in the Bible is FOUND,
Archaeologists believe they have found the site where Jesus cast demons into a herd of pigs near the Sea of Galilee.
Dr Scott Stripling, director of excavations for the Associates for Biblical Research (ABR), told Digging for the Truth that a mix of textual clues, geography and submerged ruins led him to the town of Kursi in Israel.
According to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus arrived by boat across the Sea of Galilee from west to east, where he encountered a man possessed by a ‘Legion’ of demons.
The spirits begged to be sent into a herd of pigs, which then charged down a steep slope into the sea and drowned, matching the geographical clues near the newly uncovered site.
‘All three gospels say there was a cliff nearby,’ Stripling said. ‘All three say there were tombs nearby.
‘And they tell us that Jesus was coming in on a boat from the west side to the east side.’
The breakthrough came from a Roman-era harbor, partially submerged beneath the lake.
Guided by a massive ancient fish tank, used centuries ago to keep freshly caught fish alive, Stripling and his team located the harbor where Jesus may have landed before performing the exorcism.
Stripling used information from a 1985 excavation that documented dozens of ancient harbors along the Sea of Galilee, including Kursi, which featured massive stone jetties and a large adjacent fish tank.
The harbor vanished again as water levels rose, forgotten by most.
Stripling used information from a 1985 excavation that documented dozens of ancient harbors along the Sea of Galilee, including Kursi, which featured massive stone jetties and a large adjacent fish tank.
Armed with the old excavation reports and photographs, Stripling returned in 2023 with a film crew.
Navigating by GPS and landmarks, including the mouth of Wadi Semak and the unmistakable fish tank, they donned scuba gear and dove into crystal-clear water.
The underwater exploration revealed massive stone jetties and carefully arranged blocks forming a classic harbor.
‘We felt the stones before we saw them,’ Stripling said. ‘Massive, dressed blocks forming twin piers, classic harbor construction.’
Confirming the harbor’s location was key to understanding where the biblical event could have taken place.
The journey described in scripture, Jesus leaving Capernaum and crossing to the east side of the lake, corresponds geographically to Kursi.
Nearby tombs dot a hillside where the pigs grazed, and a steep cliff less than 164 feet from the water would have allowed the herd to rush into the Sea of Galilee, recreating the dramatic scene recorded in the Gospels.
‘From the harbor, every biblical detail aligns within a 656-foot radius,’ Stripling said.
Crowning the hill above Kursi, a Byzantine chapel known as the ‘Chapel of the Miracle’ preserves a mosaic floor that some scholars interpret as depicting pigs.
Pilgrims have venerated the site for over 1,500 years. ‘This isn’t just tradition,’ Stripling noted.
‘The Byzantines built where memory and geography intersected. They likely followed Origen’s research.’
Kursi sits in the Decapolis, a league of ten Greco-Roman cities. The pigs were likely raised under contract for Roman troops; the 10th Legion, stationed nearby, used the boar as its emblem.
‘When the demons say ‘Legion,’ it’s no coincidence,’ Stripling said. ‘This was a Gentile man, possibly a failed recruit or laborer, tormented by forces mirroring Roman oppression. The pigs weren’t just livestock, they were military supply.’
‘After the miracle, the healed man begs to follow Jesus but is sent home to proclaim what God had done.
‘A year later, when Jesus returns (Mark 6), a multitude greets him, suggesting the man’s testimony sparked a revival.’
‘His obedience changed a region,’ Stripling reflected, standing in the ancient harbor. ‘We’re not just finding stones. We’re standing where despair met deliverance.’
While no inscription proclaims ‘Jesus was here,’ the convergence of harbor, cliff, tombs, and early Christian commemoration forms what Stripling calls a ‘criterial screen’ that no other site passes.
While no inscription proclaims ‘Jesus was here,’ the convergence of harbor, cliff, tombs, and early Christian commemoration forms what Stripling calls a ‘criterial screen’ that no other site passes.
For now, the harbor remains underwater, visible only when lake levels drop or to divers with permits. But its rediscovery anchors a floating miracle to solid ground and submerged stone.
