When you stand among the ruins of the Hellenistic city of Scythopolis at Beth Shean, you could almost be in any other province of the Roman empire - and January drizzle in Israel is not so different from January drizzle in Britain!
Looking around, there are the elements of any self-respecting classical city: a theatre with views across the hills over the Jordan valley; the agora which formed the political and commercial heart of the Greek city in the eastern empire; the classical temples; the baths and gymnasium; the fountain-house (or nymphaion); the colonnaded streets.
If you have just come from Jerusalem, you will probably have seen some of the sculptures which once adorned the public spaces of the city in the Israel Museum at Jerusalem.
