Beit She'arim National Park

Bet She'arim (Hebrew בית שערים, by transferring from the Hebrew in different spellings ) is an archaeological site in northern Israel. The excavations are now part of an Israeli national park.

General Information

Bet She'arim is located east of the Carmel Mountains near the town of Kiryat Tiw'on; The nearest major town is Haifa, located about 20 miles northwest.

A central component of the National Park is a vast necropolis, consisting of over 20 underground grave sites. These catacombs were created in the hillside and partly blinded with elaborate portals. In the individual caves were located up to 400 graves. Near the necropolis are to be found the remains of a former synagogue and a monument to Alexander Zaid, the discoverer of the site.

History

The mining town of Bet She'arim was built in the period from 2nd to 4th century AD. In the second century Rabbi Judah ha - Nasi moved, at the time the spiritual leader of the Jewish people, his teachers house to Beth She'arim. As a consequence, also had the Sanhedrin, whose head was ha - Nasi, at times his seat As many members of the Sanhedrin and also Judah ha - Nasi in Bet She'arim were buried in Bet She'arim, many other Jews wanted also here find their final resting place. Show inscriptions that not only Jews were buried from the immediate environment, but even from more distant cities like Tyre in Bet She'arim.

Bet She'arim was discovered accidentally in 1936 by Alexander Zaid, who was employed in the area to guard the country of the Jewish National Fund. The facility of Beth She'arim was excavated in the 1930s and 1950s by Benjamin Mazar and Nahman Avigad. At this point the tombs were already robbed exception carved many of the stone and ornate sarcophagi, however, are still preserved.