beit guvrin national park

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Beit Guvrin National Park Israel By: Spelunking Gear Visit to find out more: www.spelunking-gear.com

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Page 1: Beit guvrin national park

Beit Guvrin National

Park Israel

By: Spelunking Gear

Visit to find out more: www.spelunking-gear.com

Page 2: Beit guvrin national park

Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3

History ........................................................................................................................................................... 3

Maresha ........................................................................................................................................................ 4

Burial caves ................................................................................................................................................... 5

Bell caves ....................................................................................................................................................... 5

Saint Anne's church ....................................................................................................................................... 6

Amphitheater ................................................................................................................................................ 7

Mosaics ......................................................................................................................................................... 8

Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................... 8

Page 3: Beit guvrin national park

Introduction Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park is a national park located in central Israel, it is just 13 kilometers

from Kiryat Gat, encircling the ruins of Maresha, one of the imperative towns of Judah all through the

time of the First Temple, and Beit Guvrin, it was an important and famous town of the Roman era, that

time it was known as Eleutheropolis.

Archaeologist found a large Jewish cemetery, a Roman-Byzantine amphitheater, a Byzantine church,

public baths, mosaics and burial caves. People who are passionate about caving, this place is good for

them as well as for general tourists.

History Beit Guvrin reinstated Maresha as the place of supremacy of Rehoboam, who prepared it against

Egyptian attack. In 112 BCE, Maresha was dominated by the Hasmonean king, John Hyracanus I. all

through the Roman and Byzantine era; it had a hefty Jewish inhabitants. Underneath Roman rule, it was

approved the grade of a “city of freeman.” Beit Guvrin thrived in anticipation of the Bar Kochva revolt in

132–135 CE. According to Josephus Flavius, it was occupied by the Roman general Vespasian.

Page 4: Beit guvrin national park

Maresha As per the records Maresha was a city in ancient Judah. It was become part of the Edomite Kingdom

after destruction of the First Temple. A Sidonian group of people matured in Maresha In the late Persian

period and the city is mentioned in the Zenon Papyri (259 BC).

For the duration of the Hasmonean wars, Maresha was a base for attacks against Judea and suffered

reprisal from the Maccabees. After John Hyrcanus captured and destroyed Maresha the region of

Idumea remained under Hasmonean control. In 40 BC the Parthians devastated completely the "strong

city", after which it was never rebuilt.

Maresha was first excavated in 1900 by Bliss and Macalister, who exposed a planned and fortified

Hellenistic city surrounded by a town wall with towers. Two Hellenistic and one Israelite strata were

recognized by them on the bundle. Many of the ancient city's olive presses, columbariums and water

cisterns can still be seen.

Photo courtesy by - Reuters

Page 5: Beit guvrin national park

Burial caves Burial Caves were family crypt of Apollophanes, the chief 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 population of Beit Guvrin. The original and leading 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 entry to the underworld; a bright red phoenix symbolize the life

after death. The Tomb of the Musicians is decorated with a painting showing a man playing the flute and

a woman playing the harp.

Bell caves There are approximate 800 bell shaped caves located in this area, an underground passage ways

network connects a group of 40 to 50 caves. These caves were found during the Arabian Period when

they were digging chalk to cover the roads. Many events are held in one of the cave which is biggest and

open airy and also easily accessible, size of the cave is 60 feet high.

Page 6: Beit guvrin national park

Saint Anne's church Saint Anne's church was built in the Byzantine period and reinstated by the Crusaders in the 12th

century. The Arabic name for the church is Sandahanna. The church has three big windows and its apse

is well preserved.

Page 7: Beit guvrin national park

Amphitheater The remnants of a Roman amphitheater were exposed 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

bottomless galleries. The ground was surrounded by a sequence of associated cask vaults, which shaped

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

containment of the Bar Kochba upheaval. The amphitheater is an elliptical structure, built of large,

rectangular limestone ashlars. It was in use until destroyed in the Galilee earthquake of 363.

Page 8: Beit guvrin national park

Mosaics Byzantine mosaics depicting birds and animals were exposed on the hilltop in 1924.

Conclusion Many travel companies organizes and operates affordable tours to visit this place. Spelunking Gear

encourages the caving because we not only think caving is exploration but also we think it is an art of

enjoyment while searching underground. You can see the tips for caving, and much valuable

information from our experts, whether be it caving or cave diving etc.

Contact us- [email protected]

Visit us- www.spelunking-gear.com