A city known for miracles during the time of Jesus mysteriously disappeared centuries ago, but was later found in the late 1980s.Stories such as the healing of a blind man, feeding of the hungry multitudes and walking on water were just a few of the stories told by Rami Arav at noon on Friday in the Pioneer Room of the Memorial Union. Arav said many of these stories, which can be found in the New Testament of the Bible, supposedly took place in the lost city of Bethsaida.Arav, director of excavations and professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, conveyed the archaeological and biblical importance of Bethsaida. The city lies north of the Sea of Galilee in present-day Israel.”For nearly 2,000 years, the city was lost,” he said. “We brought a lot of information to biblical studies with our dig.”Three of Jesus’ 12 disciples: Peter, Andrew and Philip, came from Bethsaida. Medical instruments were uncovered during the dig in addition to the largest city gate ever excavated in Israel. Also unearthed was a palace, temple, enscripted stones, pottery and a small figurine of the Egyptian fertility god Pataikos, along with various other artifacts, Arav said.Bethsaida, founded in the 10th century B.C., is believed to have been destroyed during a natural catastrophe in the third century A.D. The city’s name literally translates to “House of the Fisherman,” Arav said. He said it is considered to be an important site for early Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism.According to the UNO Bethsaida Web site, excavations began in 1987 by the Golan Research Institute along with the Zinman Institute of Archaeology of Haifa University. In 1991, faculty directors and staff from institutes around the world joined together to form the Consortium of the Bethsaida Excavations Project, which is now housed at UNO. “I think it would be fun to go there and dig,” said Jessica Rains, junior in art and design.Rains and other ISU students interested in traveling to Israel and try their hand at an archeological excavation, will soon have the chance to go to Bethsaida, said Hector Avalos, associate professor of religious studies. “We are members of the excavation,” he said. “We became a member in December of last year. We are working towards a course that will take students in 2002.”