Maresha

Marissa is the ancient name of a small ancient city in what is now Israel. The place appears as Mareshah in the Bible. Today's mound is called Tell Sanda Hannah. This name comes from the ruins of a church located here.

The old Canaanite city Mareshah ( Maresha ) was mentioned as early as the Amarna letters Muhraschti (14th century BC pharaoh Akhenaten ). The place was (about 920 BC) secured under Solomon's son Rehoboam and 587 BC destroyed by the Babylonians. After their return from the Babylonian captivity, the place was not inhabited by Jews, but by the Edomites, which also made ​​it their capital. In the fourth century Phoenicians settled here. The place was Hellenized under the Diadochi and probably rebuilt. He now received the name Marissa and was the capital of the Idumeans. Since 312 BC, the city changed hands several times their owners, alternately ruled Seleucids and Ptolemies. The town was destroyed in the year 40 BC by the Parthians and then never rebuilt. Probably came the families of Herod, king of Judea, and the Kostobaros, his brother, from Marissa.

The inner city was from 1898 to 1900 fully excavated and investigated further than most other Hellenistic settlements in Palestine. Further excavations found since then held again and again. The inner city of Marissa is only 150 × 160 m in size and surrounded by a wall. In essence, an east- west running main street and several smaller streets were. The plan is like a chess board in about and shows significant Hellenistic influence. To this inner city, there are the so-called Lower Town. The houses were often built over caves. A part of them was used as oil presses, another part was apparently as columbaria. Outside the city there is a necropolis with partially decorated grave sites.