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.
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).
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 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).
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).
It was then occupied and again called Beit Jibrin (Arabic variation) by Arabs, before being occupied by the Mamluks.
The Ottomans eventually conquered the area (~500 years ago), then the British administered it from the end of WW1 until 1948.
After Israel's war for independence, Kibbutz Beit Guvrin was built in the western part of the ancient city, where it stands today.
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.
There's also Byzantine churches, and a Crusader fortress and church (with a mosque built on top).
There's cave dwellings, bell caves, columbarias (for brooding Pigeons), cisterns, olive presses, Islamic shrines, and burial caves with wall art.
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 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.
There are numerous Islamic shrines in the area, including one of a companion of Muhammad who was an early convert from Christianity.
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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