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Beit Guvrin Park

One of the most interesting places I've been to in Israel. There is an endless amount of history in this area, and it's been a hotspot for change over the last 2,000 years.

 
Image of bell caves entrance
The park has 1000s of caves

The history

Here lie the ruins of an ancient city from the Kingdom of Judah called Maresha from the 8th centry BCE (~2,700 years ago, when the first Jewish temple was around).


It was occupied by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II in the 6th century BCE (~2,500 years ago).


It then declined and was destroyed after a battle between the Jewish Hasmoneans and the Roman king Herod in 40 BCE (~2,000 years ago).


Ruins of the ancient city
Ruins of the ancient city

Built nearby is a town called Beit Guvrin (House of Power in Hebrew)/Beth Gabra in Aramaic. It was also referred to as Beitogabra by Ptolemy in his book Geography, written in the 2nd century CE (~1,900 years ago).


The amphitheatre and city ruins
Roman amphitheatre and city

The name was changed by the Romans in the 3rd century CE (~1,800 years ago), after the Bar Kochva revolts, to Eleutheropolis (Free City in Greek).


A pair of Byzantine columns
A pair of columns still stand

It was then occupied by Arabs in the 7th century CE (~1400 years ago), destroyed by Bedouin tribes in the 8th century CE (~1,300 years ago), occupied and rebuilt by Christian Crusaders in the 12th century (~900 years ago) and called Bethgibelin (or Beth Giblen).


A crusader cross in the base of a pillar
A Crusader cross

It was then occupied and again called Beit Jibrin (Arabic variation) by Arabs, before being occupied by the Mamluks.


Mamluks blocked this gate
Mamluks blocked this gate

The Ottomans eventually conquered the area (~500 years ago), then the British administered it from the end of WW1 until 1948.


Notice the layers?
Notice the layers?

After Israel's war for independence, Kibbutz Beit Guvrin was built in the western part of the ancient city, where it stands today.


The ancient city and fortress with the kibbutz in the background
The ancient city and Kibbutz
 

With all this happening in one place, you can find endless amounts of archeological evidence, everywhere you look.


The archeology

There's ancient Judaean residences, shops, a cemetery, and a bathing cave.


There's a Roman amphitheater, bathhouses and a church. The amphitheater was built in the 2nd century CE (~1,900 years ago) and could sit around 3,500 people. The "slaves" who were forced to fight were often Jews from the surrounding area.



View before entering the arena
View before entering the arena


There's also Byzantine churches, and a Crusader fortress and church (with a mosque built on top).


Church with mosque on top
Church with mosque on top

There's cave dwellings, bell caves, columbarias (for brooding Pigeons), cisterns, olive presses, Islamic shrines, and burial caves with wall art.


Wall art from the Sidonian burial caves
Wall art from burial caves

The 800+ bell caves were originally created starting ~1,500 years ago by removing the soft limestone. Many are connected by underground tunnels (5,000+ tunnels and underground caves have been found).


The bell caves
One of the tallest bell caves


The most impressive burial caves were built in the 3rd century BCE (~2,200 years ago) for the family of a man called Apollophanes, a leader of the Sidonian (people from the nearby city of Sidon) community in Maresha. An inscription found inside identified the exact site of Maresha.


The bruial chamber for Apollophanes and his family
Bruial chamber for Apollophanes

There are numerous Islamic shrines in the area, including one of a companion of Muhammad who was an early convert from Christianity.


A notch to show the direction on Mecca
Notch to show direction of Mecca

Other interesting facts

At least 50-60 Christians from nearby Gaza were beheaded by Muslim Arabs when they arrived in 638 CE (~1,400 years ago). The victims were later named as martyrs by the Catholic church.


There is a cave called the Polish Cave because engravings by Polish troops from WW2 (1943) were found.


A film adaptation of Jesus Christ Superstar was filmed here ~50 years ago.



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Sketch of animal from Sidonian cave wall art

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