Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park

Last updated
Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park
Beit Guvrin 1.JPG
"Bell cave" quarry at Beit Guvrin National Park
Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park
Location Southern District, Israel
Nearest city Kiryat Gat
Coordinates 31°35′49.06″N34°54′2.33″E / 31.5969611°N 34.9006472°E / 31.5969611; 34.9006472
Official nameCaves of Maresha and Bet-Guvrin in the Judean Lowlands as a Microcosm of the Land of the Caves
TypeCultural
Criteriav
Designated2014 (38th session)
Reference no. 1370
RegionEurope and North America

Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park is a national park in central Israel, containing a large network of caves recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. [1] The national park includes the remains of the historical towns of Maresha, one of the important towns of Judah during the First Temple Period, [2] and Bayt Jibrin, a depopulated Palestinian town known as Eleutheropolis in the Roman era. [3] However, Maresha and Bayt Jibrin are not part of the UNESCO site, which covers only the cave network. [4]

Contents

Archaeological artifacts unearthed at the site include a large Jewish cemetery, a Roman-Byzantine amphitheater, a Byzantine church, public baths, mosaics and burial caves. [5]

It is located 13 kilometers from Kiryat Gat.

Historical towns

The national park includes the remains of the historical towns of Maresha, one of the important towns of Judah during the First Temple Period, [2] and Bayt Jibrin, a depopulated Palestinian town known as Eleutheropolis in the Roman era. [3]

Maresha

Tel Maresha (Modern Hebrew) or Tell Sandahannah (Arabic) is the site of Iron Age (biblical) Mareshah, which continued through the Persian and into the Hellenistic period. [6]

Bet Guvrin / Eleutheropolis / Bayt Jibrin

The city was established after the destruction of the city on the tell (mound) by the Parthians in 40 BCE, [8] starting from a suburb of then 600-year-old Maresha/Marisa. [9]

History

Map of Kibbutz Beit Guvrin, historical Bayt Jibrin-Eleutheropolis, the national park with ancient World Heritage Site caves, and Tel Maresha (1940s Survey of Palestine map with modern overlay) Map illustrating the locations of Kibbutz Beit Guvrin, historical Bayt Jibrin-Eleutheropolis, the ancient caves World Heritage Site, and Tel Maresha (1940s Survey of Palestine map with modern overlay).jpg
Map of Kibbutz Beit Guvrin, historical Bayt Jibrin-Eleutheropolis, the national park with ancient World Heritage Site caves, and Tel Maresha (1940s Survey of Palestine map with modern overlay)
Maresha dwellings Maresha 027.jpg
Maresha dwellings

The city of mu-ukh-ra-ash-ti, sometimes rendered in English as Muhrashti, of the Amarna Letters (14th century BCE, during the Early Bronze Age) is unlikely to be the predecessor of Iron Age Maresha, as no remains older than the Iron Age were unearthed there by archaeologists. [14]

The earliest written record of Mareshah was as a city in ancient Judah (Joshua 15:44 [15] ). The Hebrew Bible mentions among other episodes that Rehoboam fortified it against Egyptian attack. After the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah, the city of Maresha became part of the Edomite kingdom. In the late Persian period a Sidonian community settled in Maresha, and the city is mentioned in the Zenon Papyri (259 BC). During the Maccabean Revolt, Maresha was a base for attacks against Judea and suffered retaliation from the Maccabees. After Hasmonean king John Hyrcanus I captured and destroyed Maresha in 112 BCE, the region of Idumea [16] remained under Hasmonean control. In 40 BC the Parthians devastated completely the "strong cite", after which it was never rebuilt.

Beth Gabra or Beit Guvrin succeeded Maresha as the main town of the area. Conquered by the Roman general Vespasian during the Jewish War (68 CE) and completely destroyed during the Bar Kochba revolt (132–135 CE), it was re-established as a Roman colony and in the year 200 it received the title of a city and the ius italicum , under the new name of "Eleutheropolis", 'city of freemen'. Sources from the Byzantine period mention both Christian and Jewish personalities living in the city. A large Jewish community existed during the Roman and Byzantine Periods and famous Tannaim and Amoraim resided here. [17]

Archaeological excavations

Maresha was first excavated in 1898–1900 by Bliss and Macalister, who uncovered a planned and fortified Hellenistic city encircled by a town wall with towers. Two Hellenistic and one Israelite stratum were identified by them on the mound. Many of the ancient city's olive presses, columbaria and water cisterns can still be seen.

Both Maresha and Beit Guvrin/Eleutheropolis were excavated after 1989 and 1992 respectively by the Israeli archaeologist Amos Kloner. Important finds at the latter site were the amphitheater built by the Roman army units stationed there, a large Roman bath house, and from the Crusader period a fortress integrating the walls of the Roman amphitheater and bath house, as well as an attached church.

Burial caves

Sidonian burial caves Sidonian Burial Caves 036.jpg
Sidonian burial caves

The Sidonian burial caves were the family tomb of Apollophanes, the leader of the Sidonian community in Beit Guvrin. The Sidonian caves are the only ones that are painted inside. The caves were burial caves for the Greek, Sidonian and Edumite inhabitants of Beit Guvrin. The first and largest cave has paintings of animals, real and mythic, above the niches where the corpses were laid. A cock crows to scare away demons; the three-headed dog Cerberus guards the entrance to the underworld; a bright red phoenix symbolizes the life after death. [18] The Tomb of the Musicians is decorated with a painting showing a man playing the flute and a woman playing the harp.

Bell caves

"The Polish Cave" with columbarium (dovecote) PikiWiki Israel 1762 Archeological sites of Israel hm`rh hpvlnyt.JPG
"The Polish Cave" with columbarium (dovecote)

There are about 800 bell-shaped caves located in the area. Many of the caves are linked via an underground network of passageways that connect groups of 40–50 caves.

Bell Caves at the Beit Govrin National Park Beit Govrin Maresha 20.jpg
Bell Caves at the Beit Govrin National Park

The largest bell caves are in the east part of the park. They have been dug since prehistoric times, the excavations reaching their zenith in the Hellenistic period and during the Byzantine and Early Arab Period, when blocks of chalkstone extracted from the caves were used for construction work (buildings, etc.). [19] The bell caves consist of limestone in their upper-layer (to a depth of about one to two meters), beneath which is rock consisting solely of a beige-colored, soft chalkstone, [20] utilized by its early inhabits for carving caverns and dwellings. There are numerous bell caves within the park grounds and events are held in one of them. They are large (over 60 feet (18 m) high), airy and easily accessible.

Columbaria

The National Park is known for some of the best preserved columbaria from the Hellenistic and Roman periods. One of the largest is located on the west side of Tell Maresha (Khurbet es Sandahannah), described by Conder and Kitchener in their Survey of Western Palestine, and formerly known by its local inhabitants as Es Sûk. [21] It has been carved underground from the soft chalkstone endemic to the area, and built with tiers of niches capable of housing hundreds of brooding pigeons.

Cave dwellings

There are a number of cave-like dwellings carved from the chalkstone bedrock, some of which display a vast extension of networks and passageways, with staircases descending down into the depth, made with step-like balustrades, and replete with cisterns for storing water and millstones for grinding olives. These caverns and dwellings, though not situated on the eminence of the Tell itself, were considered part and parcel with the city of Maresha itself, as they were later enclosed by a wall that encompassed both the city and its expanded suburbs. [22] The largest and most impressive of these caverns and dwelling places is that built near the Tell on its southeast side, and which the locals knew by the name Mŭghâret Sandahannah (The Cave of Saint Anne). [23] Today, in Modern Hebrew, the same cave dwelling is called Mavokh (Maze).

Church of Saint Anne

The ruins of the Church of St Anne, called Sandahanna in Arabic. Beyt-Govrin-3-443.jpg
The ruins of the Church of St Anne, called Sandahanna in Arabic.

Saint Anne's church was first built in the Byzantine period and then rebuilt by the Crusaders in the 12th century. The ruin is known in Arabic as Khirbet (lit. "ruin") Sandahanna, the nearby tell (mound) of Maresha being called Tell Sandahanna. [25] The freestanding remains of the apse are well preserved (see photo).

Amphitheater

The remains of a Roman amphitheater were uncovered in the mid-1990s. The amphitheater was built in the 2nd century, on the northwestern outskirts of Beit Guvrin. This amphitheater, in which gladiatorial contests took place, could seat about 3,500 spectators. It had a walled arena of packed earth, with subterranean galleries. The arena was surrounded by a series of connected barrel vaults, which formed a long, circular corridor and supported the stone seats above it; staircases led from the outside and from the circular corridor to the tribunes. It was built for the Roman troops stationed in the region after the suppression of the Bar Kochba rebellion. The amphitheater is an elliptical structure built of large rectangular limestone ashlars. It was in use until destroyed in the Galilee earthquake of 363.[ dubious discuss ][ citation needed ]

Other finds

Byzantine mosaics depicting birds and animals were discovered on the hilltop in 1924. [26]

Several hundred astragali – animal knucklebone dice – used 2,300 years ago during the Hellenistic period for divination and gaming have been found at the site since 2000. [27]

Among other major archaeological finds at this site is the Heliodorus Stele. This stele recounts events in Judaea prior to the Maccabean revolt and offers important historical evidence for events which modern day Jews commemorate during the holiday of Hanukkah. [28]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shephelah</span> Lowland region in south-central Israel

The Shephelah or Shfela, or the Judaean Foothills, is a transitional region of soft-sloping rolling hills in south-central Israel stretching over 10–15 km (6.2–9.3 mi) between the Judaean Mountains and the Coastal Plain. The different use of the term "Judean Plain", as either defining just the Coastal Plain segment stretching along the Judaean Mountains, or also including, or only referring to, the Shfela, often creates grave confusion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azekah</span> Ruins of an ancient town in Israel

Azekah was an ancient town in the Shephela guarding the upper reaches of the Valley of Elah, about 26 km (16 mi) northwest of Hebron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bar Kokhba revolt</span> Jewish rebellion against Roman rule (132–136 CE)

The Bar Kokhba revolt was a large-scale armed rebellion initiated by the Jews of Judea, led by Simon bar Kokhba, against the Roman Empire in 132 CE. Lasting until 135 or early 136, it was the third and final escalation of the Jewish–Roman wars. Like the First Jewish–Roman War and the Second Jewish–Roman War, the Bar Kokhba revolt resulted in a total Jewish defeat; Bar Kokhba himself was killed by Roman troops at Betar in 135 and the Jewish rebels who remained after his death were all killed or enslaved within the next year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maresha</span> Archaeological site in southern Israel

Maresha was an Iron Age city mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, whose remains have been excavated at Tell Sandahanna, an archaeological mound or 'tell' renamed after its identification to Tel Maresha. The ancient Judahite city became Idumaean after the fall of Judah in 586 BCE, and after Alexander's conquest of the region in 332 BCE became Hellenised under the name Marisa or Marissa. The tell is situated in Israel's Shephelah region, i.e. in the foothills of the Judaean Mountains, about 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) south of Beit Gubrin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bayt Jibrin</span> Depopulated Palestinian village and ancient Roman city in Israel near Hebron

Bayt Jibrin or Beit Jibrin was an Arab village in the Hebron District of Mandate Palestine, in what is today central Israel, which was depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was preceded by the Iron Age Judahite city of Maresha, the later Hellenistic Marissa, located slightly south of Beit Jibrin's built-up area; and the Roman and Byzantine city of Beth Gabra, known from the Talmud as Beit Guvrin, renamed Eleutheropolis after 200 CE. After the 7th-century Arab conquest of the Levant, the Arabic name of Beit Jibrin was used for the first time, followed by the Crusaders' Bethgibelin, given to a Frankish colony established around a Hospitaller castle. After the Muslim reconquest the Arab village of Beit Jibrin was reestablished.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amos Kloner</span> Israeli archaeologist and professor (1940–2019)

Amos Kloner was an Israeli archaeologist and professor emeritus.

Beit Guvrin may refer to a succession of settlements and their archaeological remains, in proper chronology: Maresha, later Marisa; and Beth Gabra, later Eleutheropolis, Beit/Bait/Bayt Jibrin, Bethgibelin, and currently Beit Guvrin National Park and Kibbutz Beit Guvrin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beit Guvrin, Israel</span> Kibbutz in southern Israel

Beit Guvrin is a kibbutz in the Lakhish region, west of the ancient city of Beit Guvrin, for which it is named. Located 14 kilometres east of Kiryat Gat, it falls under the jurisdiction of Yoav Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 450.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nehusha</span> Place in Jerusalem, Israel

Nehusha is a moshav in central Israel. Located five kilometres north-east of Beit Guvrin, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 1,460.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Place names of Palestine</span>

Many place names in Palestine were Arabized forms of ancient Hebrew and Canaanite place-names used in biblical times or later Aramaic formations. Most of these names have been handed down for thousands of years though their meaning was understood by only a few. The cultural interchange fostered by the various successive empires to have ruled the region is apparent in its place names. Any particular place can be known by the different names used in the past, with each of these corresponding to a historical period. For example, the city of Beit Shean, today in Israel, was known during the Israelite period as Beth-shean, under Hellenistic rule and Roman rule as Scythopolis, and under Arab and Islamic rule as Beisan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bayt Nattif</span> Depopulated Palestinian town in Israel

Bayt Nattif or Beit Nattif was a Palestinian Arab village, located some 20 kilometers southwest of Jerusalem, midway on the ancient Roman road between Beit Guvrin and Jerusalem, and 21 km northwest of Hebron. The village lay nestled on a hilltop, surrounded by olive groves and almonds, with woodlands of oak and carobs overlooking Wadi es-Sunt to its south. It contained several shrines, including a notable one dedicated to al-Shaykh Ibrahim. Roughly a dozen khirbas lay in the vicinity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tel Burna</span> Israeli archaeological site

Tel Burna is an archaeological site located in the Shephelah, along the banks of Nahal Guvrin, not far from modern-day Qiryat Gat. Tel Burna is located near Beit Guvrin/Maresha, Tel Goded, Lachish, Tell es-Safi/Gath and Tel Zayit. The site is thought to have been one of a series of sites along the border between Judah and Philistia.

Moresheth-Gath, also Moreshet-Gat, was a town of the tribe of Judah in ancient Israel mentioned in the Bible. It was located in the Shephelah region between Lachish and Achzib.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tell ej-Judeideh</span> Ancient archaeological site in the Shfelah

Tell ej-Judeideh is a tell in modern Israel, lying at an elevation of 398 metres (1,306 ft) above sea-level. The Arabic name is thought to mean, "Mound of the dykes." In Modern Hebrew, the ruin is known by the name Tell Goded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horvat 'Ethri</span> Archeological site in Israel

Horvat 'Ethri, or Umm Suweid, is an archaeological site situated in the Judean Lowlands in modern-day Israel. Excavations at the site have uncovered the remains of a partially restored Jewish village from the Second Temple period. The site features an ancient synagogue, wine presses, cisterns, mikvehs, stone ossuaries, and an underground hideout system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chezib of Judah</span> Canaanite - Israelite town of Judah

Chezib, also known as Achzib of Judah, is a biblical place-name associated with the birth of Judah's son, Shelah (Genesis 38:5), corresponding to the Achzib of the Book of Joshua (15:44), a town located in the low-lying hills of the plain of Judah, known as the Shefela. In I Chronicles 4:22, the town is rendered as Chozeba. The place is now a ruin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebbo</span> Archaeological site in Israel

Rebbo or Horvat Rebbo, alternative spellings: Robbo, Ribbo; in Arabic Khurbet Rubba, is an ancient site in Israel, mentioned by Eusebius in his Onomasticon as possibly referring to a site by a similar name in the Book of Joshua. The site, which is now a ruin, sits on a hill 414 metres (1,358 ft) above sea level, in the Shephelah region, and is now part of the Adullam-France Park, maintained by the Jewish National Fund (KKL). It lies about 1.5 km. to the west of Aderet as the crow flies, and about 11 kilometres (7 mi) northeast of Beit Guvrin National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lavnin</span>

Lavnin (Hebrew: חורבת לבנין)(Arabic: خربة تل البيضة), is a late Bronze Age archaeological site situated in Israel's Adullam region, rising some 389 metres (1,276 ft) above sea level. The site lies 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) northwest of Beit Gubrin, and about 1 kilometer west-north-west of Khirbat Umm Burj, directly south of Nehusha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tel Beit Shemesh</span> Archaeological tell in Jerusalem District, Israel

Tel Beit Shemesh is a small archaeological tell northeast of the modern city of Beit Shemesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daroma</span> Term for the southern Hebron Hills in late antiquity

Daroma (Aramaic) or Darom (Hebrew), both meaning 'South', was the name of the southern Hebron Hills in the Late Roman and Byzantine periods. The term is used in Eusebius's Onomasticon and in rabbinic literature. By the late tenth century, the Arab geographer al-Muqaddasi was still referring to part of the region of Beth Guvrin by this name.

References

  1. "Caves of Maresha and Bet-Guvrin in the Judean Lowlands as a Microcosm of the Land of the Caves".
  2. 1 2 The Guide to Israel, Zev Vilnay, Tel Aviv, 1972, p.281
  3. 1 2 The Guide to Israel, Zev Vilnay, Tel Aviv, 1972, p.275
  4. The Caves of Maresha and Bet Guvrin, In the Judean Lowlands, As a Microcosm of the Land of the Caves, Submitted to the World Heritage Center - UNESCO By the State of Israel - January 2013, p.14: "Note: The relationship between the caves and the settlement network above them – wherever it is referred to all through this dossier – is given in order to let the reader understand the context of these caves; however, the mentioned archaeological surface remains are not a part of the proposed nomination!"
  5. Bell Cave at Beit Guvrin Archived January 29, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  6. 1 2 3 Jacobson, David (March–April 2004). "Marisa Tomb Paintings". Biblical Archaeology Review (30.2): 24–37, 39. Retrieved 30 August 2024 via BAS online library, incl. "Maresha Today" sidebar.
  7. 1 2 Kiesling, John Brady. "Marisa/Eleutheropolis (Palestine) 26 Beit Guvrin - Ελευθερόπολις". ToposText. Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation . Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  8. 1 2 3 Negev, Avraham; Gibson, Shimon (2001). "Beth Gubrin; Eleutheropolis". Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land. New York and London: Continuum. pp. 78–79. ISBN   978-0-8264-1316-1.
  9. Gorys, Erhard (1996). Heiliges Land (in German). Cologne: DuMont. pp. 193–197. ISBN   3770138600.
  10. "Bet Guvrin (Betogabris)". Jerusalem: Carta Digital Ltd. 5 December 2012. pp. 78–79. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  11. James Strong and John McClintock (1880). "Eleutheropolis". In: The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature. NY: Haper and Brothers. Accessed 30 August 2024 via biblicalcyclopedia.com.
  12. al-Baladhuri, quoted in Le Strange (1890), p.28 Archived 2011-06-29 at the Wayback Machine
  13. 1 2 Pringle, Denys (1997). "Bait Jibrin (32)". Secular buildings in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: an rchaeological Gazetter. Cambridge University Press. p. 27. ISBN   0521460107 . Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  14. Negev & Gibson (2001), "Maresha (Tell); Marissa; Sandahannah (Tell)", pp. 315-317.
  15. "Joshua 15:44 - Bible Gateway". www.biblegateway.com. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  16. "Idumea". Catholic Answers. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  17. "Bet Guvrin (Beit Jibrin, Betogabris, Beth Gabra)". Carta Jerusalem. 2012-12-05. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  18. For a description of the paintings in the tomb of Apollophanes, see John P. Peeters and Herman Theirsch, Painted Tombs in the Necropolis of Marissa (London: Palestine Exploration Fund, 1905).
  19. Professor Boaz Zissu of Bar-Ilan University, Tell Maresha: An underground city from the Hellenistic period in the Judean lowlands on YouTube, Lecture given at Bar-Ilan University. / March 2020, minutes 05:47–08:07 (in Hebrew).
  20. Professor Boaz Zissu of Bar-Ilan University, Tell Maresha: An underground city from the Hellenistic period in the Judean lowlands on YouTube, Lecture given at Bar-Ilan University. / March 2020, minutes 07:11–07:33; (in Hebrew).
  21. Conder, C.R.; Kitchener, H.H. (1883). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology. Vol. 3. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. pp.  289-290.
  22. Professor Boaz Zissu of Bar-Ilan University, Tell Maresha: An underground city from the Hellenistic period in the Judean lowlands on YouTube, Lecture given at Bar-Ilan University. / March 2020, minutes 13:45–ff.; (in Hebrew).
  23. Conder, C.R.; Kitchener, H.H. (1883). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology. Vol. 3. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund., pages 291-292 (s.v. Tell Sandahannah)
  24. "Maresha - St. Anna | Huji". dig.corps-cmhl.huji.ac.il. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  25. The Holy Land: An Archeological Guide from Earliest Times to 1700, Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, 1980, p.145
  26. The Guide to Israel, Zev Vilnay, Tel Aviv, 1972, p.276
  27. Perry-Gal, Lee; Stern, Ian; Erlich, Adi (2022-01-02). "Gaming and divination in the Hellenistic Levant: the case study of the astragalus assemblage from Maresha, Israel". Levant. 54 (1). Informa UK Limited: 65–79. doi:10.1080/00758914.2022.2048433. ISSN   0075-8914.
  28. Heliodorus Stele