The national park encompasses the Roman lower city and the tel — the great mound of superimposed cities — that looms above it. Together they represent continuous human occupation stretching back more than seven thousand years, making this one of the oldest and most layered archaeological sites in the Middle East.
The Roman remains are the most visible and most striking. A colonnaded main street (cardo) runs through the centre, its original basalt paving still intact. On one side stands the theatre, which seated five thousand and remains acoustically functional — stand in the centre of the orchestra and speak quietly; your voice carries to the uppermost tiers. Flanking the cardo are bathhouses spread over more than half a hectare, a nympheum, temples, and a Byzantine-era mosaic floor. The scale of the Roman city is easy to underestimate from photographs: walking through it takes the better part of an hour.
Tel Beit Shean, the mound visible above the lower city, preserves 18 strata of occupation from the Chalcolithic period through to the Islamic era. Egyptian governors administered the city from here for three centuries; the Philistines displayed the bodies of King Saul and his sons on the walls after the Battle of Mount Gilboa. A path leads to the summit, where an Ottoman-era tower offers views across the Jordan and Jezreel valleys.
The site is fully exposed and can be brutal by late morning in summer. Bring water, wear a hat, and arrive at opening time. Allow at least two hours; more if you plan to climb the tel. The on-site museum is modest but provides useful chronological context before you walk the ruins.