The current excavations at Beth-Shean disclose an impressive Roman city that continued in use after the Arab conquest of 637 C.E. A colonnaded street, perhaps the cardo, or main street of the city, is seen here extending from the lower right to the upper left of the slide. Private houses, shops and public buildings open into the street behind the calumniation, which provides for a roof over the sidewalks, as in most main streets of Roman and Byzantine cities. Such a colonnaded street is presupposed in one of the parables of Jesus, though it is called a thoroughfare in the RSV (Matthew 22:9).