Sabastiya is undoubtedly one of the most impressive archaeological sites in Palestine. Capital during the Iron Age and rival of Jerusalem, the city was re-established in the time of Herod and flourished in the first centuries of the Roman Empire; nowadays the political and administrative situation prevents new diggings in this village, which is under military occupation. Therefore, the ideological motivations which inspired the archaeologists if the early 20th Century and contributed to the forging an imaginary place, continue to weigh on the competitive memorial constructions.

Kevin Trehuedic (PhD in Ancient History) is a Junior Lecturer at University of East-Paris, affiliated to the Institut Français du Proche-Orient in Jerusalem since 2015. He specialises in the Hellenistic period and cultural history of the Near-East and is currently working on the archaeology of Sabastyah in the Greek and early Roman times.