An Israeli scientist says a Roman temple unearthed in the center of an ancient Jewish city in northern Israel shows pagans and Jews lived and worshipped together.



Hebrew University professor Zeev Weiss said Monday the 2nd century temple was found during excavations at Sepphoris, or Tzippori in Hebrew.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3581189,00.html

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This is hardly news. Religions in Ancient Israel by Ziony Zevitt would be a good start.

Right, it's hardly news. Lots of exacavations have found evidence of avodah zarah in Jewish homes.
In the case of tzippori, we actually stayed at a bed and breakfast there in July and there was a book in the room on the history of tzippori and indeed there were chilonim and torah truers all living there at the same time, a lot because of refugees from J-m following the churban.

[r. yehudah ha-nassi's grave is there in tzippori].

(though it is sad)

I'm not sure what your comparison to Chiloni/TT is: are you implying that just as not everyone kept normative Judaism (whatever that means) then, not everyone does now and that it was/is tolerated?

No. As the article said, Pagans and Jews. I was just putting it into modern terms - I suspect the book I read was trying to show how "mixed" neighborhoods lived in harmony in Chazaldik times, the political implication for today being why can't we all just live in harmony today and sing kumbayah.

Ok, that was the second part of my qualification. Isn't there a difference, however, between non-Jewish pagans, who were there by the virtue of the authorities and chilonim, who are there by their own authority?

maybe.

This is earnest question: Do you find in Chazal that they value 'tolerance'? (especially given the context of the situation, namely, living in Israel)