Videos—Revelation: Laodicea
-
Laodicea: Archeology 2014
We first visited the ancient site of Laodicea, just outside of the modern city of Denizli, in 2002. No archeological work had been done, so the ruins mostly lay underground. We could see a few remnants of a street or the arch of a building, or the outline of the theater, but not much more. The year after we visited, the University of Denizli started work with major funding from a fabric manufacturer local to Denizli. The results are amazing.
-
Laodicea: Archeology 2016
Major progress is being made each year. The remains of the main temple complex, Temple A, just off the main street (Syria Street), have received the greatest attention, with a dramatic plexiglass walkway that overviews the area discovered underground. The Byzantine church near Temple A now has a full pavilion covering the reconstruction.
-
Laodicea: Theater Street
The major avenues of Laodicea have been exposed by the recent archeological work. One of these streets leads directly from the central downtown district out to the smaller north theater that was built later in Laodicea’s history, so we have dubbed the street “Theater Street.” The theater this street leads to also has a view to the cliffs of Hierapolis like the other theater. An exposed section of the underground terra-cotta pipe system that carried water from the main water terminal stations throughout Laodicea also is viewable at this theater.
-
Laodicea: Syria Street
Syria Street is the grand avenue of ancient Laodicea entered from the great Syrian Gate that was built by the emperor Domitian (81–96). This colonnaded avenue had shops along each side and ran hundreds of yards through the heart of the commercial and governmental district, past several stunning temples that rivaled any structure among the cities of Roman Asia. The construction of the the street reveals the extensive underground sanitation channels of running water that serviced all the main streets of Laodicea. The ancient Roman sewage system was as sophisticated as any city in Europe up to the industrial revolution of the nineteenth century.
-
Laodicea: Stadium Dedicated to Titus
The stadium at Laodicea indicates several features of the ancient world. One was the great expense devoted to the entertainment of games and gladiators, evocative of today’s world of sports and Olympic games. Another was the necessity of the benefaction system for cities everywhere, in which a wealthy patron would donate the funds for major construction projects that adorned the ancient city. Finally, the power throughout Asia of the Flavian dynasty created by Vespasian (69–79) and his two sons, Titus (79–81) and Domitian (81–96), is evident not only in the many imperial temples that were built to them at great local expense, but also in the many construction projects, such as gates and stadiums, that these emperors either sponsored themselves or were dedicated to them.
-
Laodicea: Hierapolis Headwaters
The older and larger of Laodicea’s two theaters, neither preserved well, has a panoramic view of the striking white cliffs of Hierapolis only a few miles away across the Lycus Valley. The cliffs are created by lime deposits as the mineral water springs cascade down the mountain side, creating pools from which the water evaporates, leaving behind the dramatic white mineral deposits. Not far from Laodicea lay the city of Colossae, nestled next to a mountain range whose water supply was the clear and cold snowmelt from the nearby mountains. These two water systems, the hot springs of Hierapolis and the clear, cold waters of Colossae, provide the striking backdrop for one of the most dramatic and stunning sayings of Jesus in the New Testament. The first video below highlights the actual headwaters of the hot springs at Hierapolis. The second video focuses on the statement of Jesus in Rev 3:16.
-
Laodicea: Water Terminals
The Roman empire through its amazing aqueducts covering hundreds of miles across the empire engineered one of the most sophisticated water supply systems ever seen until the modern industrial age. Laodicea better than most sites reveals the water terminal stations to which these aqueducts ran. The terminals at Laodicea, however, had to be elevated to create intentional holding tanks to allow sediment to settle and filter the water before sending the water supply through the terra-cotta pipes out to the bathhouses and nymphaeums (fountains), because the water was so laden with minerals.
-
Laodicea: Rev 3:16, "Spit You Out"
One of the harshest statements of disgust by Jesus in the New Testament is the stunning warning spoken to Laodicean believers in Rev 3:16, literally in Greek: “I will vomit you out of my mouth.” Jesus clearly is making allusion to the mineral water at Laodicea. Left untreated, a drink from the stream running nearby Laodicea would cause an unsuspecting travel to throw up because of its emetic properties. That problem is why the Romans had to build elaborate water terminals at Laodicea so the water’s mineral sediment could settle in receiving tanks and some decent water skimmed off the top. Even then, the clay water pipes running down from the terminals over time built up enough lime deposits inside they still clogged up almost entirely and had to be replaced periodically. The contrast with the waters of nearby Colossae and Hierapolis could not be more dramatic. Colossaae’s snow-melt, cool waters had premier usefulness for drinking. Hierapolis’s hot springs had premier usefulness medicinally. Laodicea’s tepid, mineral water, in stark contrast, was useful for absolutely nothing.
Videos > Videos-1MJ Videos-2MJ Videos-3MJ Videos-4JR Videos-Rev