The Byzantine town of Subeita (Shivta) in the Negev Desert, was an integral part of the Byzantine province of Third Palestine. The Romans had first incorporated it into their Empire in 106 AD, and the Byzantine or Eastern Roman Empire divided all of Palestine into three parts when Christianity became the official religion in the fourth century AD. That is when the current Negev became part of Third Palestine. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"110310","attributes":{"alt":"Map of Third Palestine, showing pilgrim routes. (Image © Dr Ken Gutwein)","class":"media-image","height":"698","style":"width: 523px; height: 698px;","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"523"}}]] Map of Third Palestine, showing pilgrim routes. (Image © Dr Ken Gutwein) Dr Kenneth Gutwein spent a decade in the Middle East interpreting the remains of the long-lost civilizations of the Negev Desert in Israel. From
