The UN-protected site of Beit Shearim (The City of Two Gates) is sometimes considered as Israel's equivalent to Petra. Compared to many biblical sites, Beit Shearim is not very ancient. In fact it is not even mentioned once in the Bible. However, this city from 1st Century BC is one of the most impressive dead Jewish city discovered so far. The First Century (AD) Jewish Historian Flavius Josephus mentions the city as "Besara"-a territory belonging to Bernice, the great grand-daughter of King Herod the Great.
Today, if you visit Beit Shearim, it appears like a city of dead. You can find at least 31 catacombs with hundreds of burial chambers and sarcophagi from 2nd -4th Century AD dispersed everywhere. Some of them family tombs and others are public burial places. The walls of the caves and sarcophagi are decorated with carvings, paintings and engravings of sacred Jewish symbols, diverse geometric designs, figures of humans and animals and even pagan deities. Numerous Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic inscriptions also have been discovered from the catacombs, indicating the strong influence of Jewish and Greek cultures in the region.
The cornerstone and the most important tomb in Beit Shearim is that of the famous Jewish Rabbi from 2nd Cent AD, Rabbi Judah HaNassi. After Judah HaNassi's burial, Beit Shearim became the most sought-after burial place for Jews, many from both Israel and the diaspora desiring to be buried there. Just outside the cemetery of Beit Shearim lies the ancient town of Beit Shearim from Roman Period (2nd Cent 0nwards), on the top and slopes of a hill spread in an area of 25 acres. Beit Shearim was destroyed in a fire in 352 AD, during the Jewish revolt against the Romans. Later, it was renewed as a Byzantine city (5th-6th Cent AD). From the early Arab period (7th century), the city was almost neglected.
An Arab village called Sheikh Bureik was located here in the late 16th century. In 1920, the Jewish National Fund (JNF) purchased the land of Arab village of Sheikh Bureik and in 1936, Alexander Zaid, a watchman of JNF identified and rediscovered ancient Beit Shearim. Today, after series of archaeological excavations, the city and the cemetery of ancient Beit Shearim is carefully preserved under a National Park.
Today, if you visit Beit Shearim, it appears like a city of dead. You can find at least 31 catacombs with hundreds of burial chambers and sarcophagi from 2nd -4th Century AD dispersed everywhere. Some of them family tombs and others are public burial places. The walls of the caves and sarcophagi are decorated with carvings, paintings and engravings of sacred Jewish symbols, diverse geometric designs, figures of humans and animals and even pagan deities. Numerous Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic inscriptions also have been discovered from the catacombs, indicating the strong influence of Jewish and Greek cultures in the region.
The cornerstone and the most important tomb in Beit Shearim is that of the famous Jewish Rabbi from 2nd Cent AD, Rabbi Judah HaNassi. After Judah HaNassi's burial, Beit Shearim became the most sought-after burial place for Jews, many from both Israel and the diaspora desiring to be buried there. Just outside the cemetery of Beit Shearim lies the ancient town of Beit Shearim from Roman Period (2nd Cent 0nwards), on the top and slopes of a hill spread in an area of 25 acres. Beit Shearim was destroyed in a fire in 352 AD, during the Jewish revolt against the Romans. Later, it was renewed as a Byzantine city (5th-6th Cent AD). From the early Arab period (7th century), the city was almost neglected.
An Arab village called Sheikh Bureik was located here in the late 16th century. In 1920, the Jewish National Fund (JNF) purchased the land of Arab village of Sheikh Bureik and in 1936, Alexander Zaid, a watchman of JNF identified and rediscovered ancient Beit Shearim. Today, after series of archaeological excavations, the city and the cemetery of ancient Beit Shearim is carefully preserved under a National Park.
No comments:
Post a Comment