A new location proposed for Bethagidea of the Madaba Map

A new location is proposed herein for the site of Bethagidea that is marked on the famous Byzantine mosaic map from Madaba, Jordan. According to the features located on the mosaic and based on rather few historical sources, Bethagidea is located southeast of Gaza, in the northwestern Negev. For the last decades the site was identified with Khirbet El-Jindy, located adjacent and to the east of Netivot. The newly suggested location of Byzantine Bethagidea is at a distance of some 8 km southwest of the previously identified site (coord. 158400/588390, Israel new grid). The site is probably named after the Hebrew/Aramaic/Greek words of Gdi/Gadia/Gide, which may reflect the major domestic agricultural occupation of the Byzantine inhabitants. The new identification is based on several findings: foundation remains of a major building that resembles the graphical sketch of Bethagidea as it appears on the Madaba map; exceptionally large numbers of man-made water cisterns around it and the proximity to major water streams; ceramic sherds of Byzantine age found at the site; the relatively elevated topographical position and long distance views. (D'après le résumé de la revue)