The seventeen springs of the city of Hamat Tiberias emanate from a source tens of meters underground. In ancient times, the springs were thought to have therapeutic and restorative powers. The Sages recognized the contribution of the springs to curing a variety of ailments (including boils) and thus ruled that one could bathe in them even on the Sabbath.
This site was discovered by accident in 1920, when the road from Tiberias to Zemach was paved by members of Gedud Ha`avoda. A year later, people digging at the site uncovered a seven-branched candelabrum, now on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. A stone armchair is another interesting find.
The synagogue at Hamat Tiberias had a long and varied history. The remains, on view today, belong to the Severus synagogue, built between 337 and 286 B.C.E., the period when the Sanhedrin (assembly of 71 ordained scholars, which served as both as legislature and as supreme court) met in Tiberias. It draws its name from one of the Greek inscriptions found here.
The most beautiful feature of the synagogue is the mosaic floor, the oldest discovered in Israel. The mosaic has three panels. The central panel has a large zodiac, with Helios at the center steering his celestial chariot towards the sun.
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