The Sea of Galilee and the surrounding area are mentioned prominently in the Bible. The Sea of Galilee would have been a major source of income and food for many of the people living on or near its shores in the first century. Indeed, the importance of the sea has changed little in two millennium. Trade, transportation, and fishing have all been and remain an important part of the residents’ daily lives.
[The Sea of Galilee is also known as Lake Tiberias, Lake Kinneret or Lake Kinnereth.]
In “The Jewish War”, considered by many to be the most important works of historian Josephus Flavius, he recounts the Roman siege of Migdal. The Romans, unable to overcome the city’s fortified walls, built boats and invaded from the sea. The Romans destroyed the city in a bloodbath, but a number of survivors were able to escape on boats and took refuge in the center of the Lake. The Romans once again constructed vessels and engaged the Jewish survivors on the lake. Josephus, who some believe was an eye witness to the event, records the Jewish survivors were wiped out and the water of the lake turned red with blood and the shoreline was littered with the wreckage of their small boats.
Boats would have been used to take advantage of the rich fishing of the Sea of Galilee and it is also likely boats would have been used to transport people and goods from one port to another. While the use of boats on the Sea of Galilee was never in dispute, no archeological evidence of these boats had ever been found. That all changed in the summer of 1986 when the oldest boat ever to be found in fresh water, anywhere in the world, was discovered along the shore of the Sea of Galilee.
The area around the sea was going through one of the most severe droughts in its history and the lake’s water level was at record lows. Two brothers, walking along the shoreline, noticed timbers protruding from the mud and quickly contacted authorities. Experts had to move quickly to protect and preserve the remains which were in remarkably good condition. The wood and other items found with the boat dated the remains to sometime in the first century B.C. or first century A.D. The remains were sealed in a protective foam and carefully raised from the mud. Nearly two thousand years after sinking to the bottom of the lake, the small boat once again sailed on the surface of the lake, if only for a short distance. The boat would eventually be housed in a special museum but the conservation methods used would take an astonishing fourteen years to complete.
While the wood and construction method of the boat helped date the artifact, researchers also recovered pottery and numerous nails from inside the boat. A lantern and other artifacts were found very nearby but it could not be confirmed these were associated with the boat. Because the boat was constructed and used during the time when Jesus was ministering in this area, the boat was compared to those mentioned in the Bible. Not only did the dates correspond to the time of Jesus, the overall size and type of the boat also matched the rough descriptions mentioned in the Bible.
The boat was 26.9 feet (8.2 meters) in length, 7.55 feet (2.3 meters) in breadth and 3.94 feet (1.2 meters) in height. The boat would have had the ability to hold up to fifteen people and could have been rowed by 4 or 5 rowers. The boat was also equipped with a sail and was constructed primarily of Lebanese cedar planks and oak frames. Each of these elements match almost exactly the biblical accounts of boats on the Sea of Galilee. In some stories the men are rowing, in others there is a sail. The overall size matches nicely as well, given the number of disciples and the capacity of the boat discovered.
It is believed the boat may have been used by as many as three generations and undergone a number of repairs through the years. While mostly made of cedar, the boat had several planks of a variety of different woods. Some believe this is an indication the original builder could not afford all cedar. Considering the bulk of the boat is made of cedar it is far more likely the other types of wood were used during repairs which would have been necessary during its long lifetime. It is believed the boat eventually became un-repairable and was stripped of all usable items, then intentional sunk.
[Historian Flavius Josephus reports there were regularly as many as 230 fishing boats on the Sea on any given day.]