Nazareth

==="Venerated area" near the Basilica of the Annunciation===
While excavations conducted prior to 1931 in the Franciscan "venerated area" (the side of the hill known as Jabal Nebi Sa'in, stretching north of the Basilica of the Annunciation) revealed no trace of a Greek or Roman settlement there,<ref>R. Tonneau, ''Revue Biblique'' XL (1931), p. 556. Reaffirmed by C. Kopp (op. cit.,1938, p. 188).</ref> later digs under Fr. Bagatti, who acted as the principal [[archaeologist]] for the venerated sites in Nazareth, unearthed quantities of later [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] and [[Byzantine]] artifacts,<ref>B. Bagatti, ''Excavations in Nazareth'', vol. 1 (1969), pp. 272–310.</ref> attesting to unambiguous human presence there from the 2nd century AD onward. [[John Dominic Crossan]], a noted New Testament scholar, remarked that Bagatti's archaeological drawings indicate just how small the village actually was, suggesting that it was little more than an insignificant [[hamlet (place)|hamlet]].<ref>John Dominic Crossan, ''The Historical Jesus : The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant'', 1992, p. 18</ref>