JERUSALEM, Aug 11: Archaeologists have found the ruins of a pagan temple dating back to Roman times in the Galilee region of northern Israel, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem said on Monday.

The temple was discovered under the foundations of a Byzantine church that had been unearthed during a previous dig in Zippori national park, the university said in a statement.

“This discovery shows that Zippori, the Jewish capital of Galilee during the Roman period, had a fairly important pagan population,” it said.

Objects found among the ruins of the 24-metre by 12-metre temple suggest the temple was devoted to Zeus and Tyche, the Greek goddess of prosperity, according to the university which led the dig. —AFP