Maresha
Judean Lowlands as a Microcosm of the Land of the Caves | |
---|---|
Criteria | Cultural: (v) |
Reference | 1370 |
Inscription | 2014 (38th Session) |
Coordinates | 31°35′35″N 34°53′54″E / 31.59306°N 34.89833°E |
Tel Maresha (
Excavations revealed that Maresha was inhabited (not necessarily continuously) during the Iron Age, the Persian period, and the Hellenistic period.[3] John Hyrcanus of the Hasmonean dynasty seized Maresha in 113/112 BCE, leading to its decline and eventual desertion. The city faced its ultimate destruction at the hands of the Parthians in 40 BCE.[4]
Maresha was first excavated in 1898–1900 by the British archaeologists Bliss and Macalister on behalf of the Palestine Exploration Fund and again after 1989 by Israeli archaeologist Amos Kloner on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority.[1] Most of the artifacts of the British excavation are to be found today in the Istanbul Archaeology Museums.
This site is now protected as part of Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park and its burial caves are recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.[5]
Identification
The location of Maresha in relation to Eleutheropolis (Beit Gubrin) has been noted by Eusebius in his Onomasticon, who wrote:
Maresa (Joshua 15:44). Tribe of Judah. It is now a deserted site about 2 milestones from Eleutheropolis.[6]
C.R. Conder and H.H. Kitchener of the Palestine Exploration Fund surmised that Maresha should be identified with Khurbet Mar'ash, a ruin 3⁄4 mile south of Beit Jibrin, based on a phonetic similarity of their names.[7] It was not until J. P. Peters and Hermann Thiersch explored the ruins of Khurbet Sandahannah (grid position 140111 PAL) in 1902 that they discovered a Greek funerary inscription in an adjacent burial cave (known as the Sidonian burial Cave) which explicitly identified the site as Maresha.[8][9][10] Today, Khurbet Sandahannah is an archaeological tell comprising 24 dunams (5.9 acres), with its "lower city" incorporating into it an additional 400 dunams (98 acres).
History
Iron Age to Hellenistic period
Maresha was one of the cities of
Later, in the second
According to the Madaba Map, Maresha was the place "whence came Micah the Prophet".[14] In the 6th century BCE, as result of Zedekiah's rebellion against the Babylonian kingdom and its king Nebuchadnezzar II, the latter occupied the Judean kingdom and sent many of its inhabitants into exile. This marked the end of Maresha as a Judahite city.
Following these events,
With the conquest of the region by
Decline and fall
The city began its decline during the
Following the rebellion and its success, John Hyrcanus conquered the city in c. 112 BCE, forcibly converting its inhabitants to Judaism.[20][15]
In 63 BCE, as part of the arrangements made by Pompey in the region, Maresha, along with all of Edom, was separated from the Jewish kingdom and returned to Idumea. In 47 BCE Julius Caesar then annexed the city to Judea.[21]
Maresha was finally destroyed in 40 BCE by the
After Maresha: Beth Gabra/Eleutheropolis
After the demise of Maresha, the neighbouring
Modern era
The Palestinian Arab village
Archaeology
Archaeological excavations have been conducted at the site from 1972 to 2002 by Amos Kloner and from 2002 until 2014, by Bernie Alpert and Ian Stern, initially on behalf of the
During excavations at Tel Maresha, archaeologists uncovered a lead weight with a Greek inscription that read: "Year 170 (corresponding to 143/2 BCE), the agoranomos [= "market inspector"] being Antipater, son of Heliodorus, and Aristodamus, son of Ariston (?)."[25] The calendar year is written according to the Seleucid era counting, during which same year Simon Thassi of the Hasmonean dynasty assumed power.
Among the major archaeological finds at this site is the Heliodorus Stele.[26] This stele recounts events in Judaea prior to the Maccabean revolt and offers important historical evidence for events that would precede events which modern day Jews commemorate during the holiday of Chanukah.
Approximately 500 ostraca were found in Tell Maresha alone, 400 of which discovered since 2000. Included among these are both dated and undated dockets, tags with personal names and a number of letters of correspondence.[27]
In 2022, a large number of knucklebones were found. Some were used to play games (for example, knucklebones) and others to contact the gods (astragalomancy). Those that bear writing were in Greek.[28]
Tel Maresha and national park
Today Maresha is part of the Israeli national park of Beit Guvrin. Many of the ancient city's olive presses, columbaria and water cisterns can still be seen. Furthermore, the Archaeological Seminars Institute, under the license of the Israel Antiquities Authority, conducts excavations of Maresha's many quarried systems, and invites visitors to participate.
See also
- Ancient synagogues in the Palestine region
- Archaeological Seminars Institute
- Archaeology of Israel
- Bayt Jibrin for most elaborate presentation (history, archaeology etc.)
- Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park
- Eleutheropolis
- Kibbutz Beit Guvrin
- LMLK seal – seal impressions on jars from the time of King Hezekiah (ruled c. 715–686 BCE)
- Tourism in Israel
Gallery
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Extensive cave dwellings at Tell Maresha
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Vast underground chambers at Tell Maresha
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An old olive press at Tell Maresha
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Inner recess of cave dwelling
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Staircase at ruin Khirbet Sandahannah (now Tell Maresha)
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Columbarium (dovecote) in Maresha
References
- ^ ISBN 0-8264-1316-1.
- ^ The Interpreter's Bible,1956, Abingdon Press, Volume VI, page 897
- ISBN 9781575065809.
- ISSN 0792-8424.
- ^ "Caves of Maresha and Bet-Guvrin in the Judean Lowlands as a Microcosm of the Land of the Caves". UNESCO.
- OCLC 937002750.
- ^ Conder, C.R.; Kitchener, H.H. (1883). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology. Vol. 3. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. p. 262.
- OCLC 1854067.
Apollophanes, [son of] Sesmaios, thirty-three years chief of the Sidonians at Marise, reputed the best and most kin-loving of all those of his time; he died, having lived seventy-four years
; see also the Greek inscription in NEAEHL, Vol. 3, ed. by E. Stern, Jerusalem 1993, p. 955. - OCLC 745203905.
- ^ Rainey (1983), p. 10
- ^ Joshua 15:44)
- ^ 2 Chronicles 11:5–10
- ^ 2 Chronicles 14:9–12
- ^ "The Madaba Mosaic Map web site! - Welcome". Archived from the original on 2016-09-19. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
- ^ OCLC 745203905.
- ^ Mysterious Caves of Maresha by Ian Stern at academia.edu. Three fragments of a Greek inscription, believed to be part of the Heliodoros stele were recently found at an Israel Antiquities Authority excavation at the National Park of Beit Guvrin.
- ^ 1 Maccabees 5:66
- ^ Josephus (Antiquities 12.8.6.; 12.350)
- Douai-Rheims edition (1899) as passing through Samaria: 1 Maccabees 5:66
- ^ Josephus, Antiquities Book xxii chapter 9 paragraph 1
- ISBN 0-8028-2400-5p 856
- OCLC 745203905.
- ^ Israel Antiquities Authority, Excavators and Excavations Permit for Year 2010, Survey Permit # A-5808; Excavators and Excavations Permit for Year 2013, Survey Permit # A-6701; Excavators and Excavations Permit for Year 2014, Survey Permit # A-7015
- New York Times
- ISBN 978-3-11-054364-3.
- ^ Exhibitions - The Heliodorus Stele
- ISBN 978-3-11-054364-3.
- ^ Huge Number of Knucklebones for Prophecy and Games Discovered in Biblical Maresha
Bibliography
- Kloner, Amos, Maresha Excavations Final Report I: Subterranean Complexes 21, 44, 70 (Jerusalem, Israel Antiquities Authority, 2003).
- Jacobson, D. M., The Hellenistic Paintings of Marisa (London, Palestine Exploration Fund, 2005).
- JSTOR 1356823.
- Stern, Ian, Excavations at Maresha Subterranean Complex 169. Final Report Seasons 2000-2016. (Annual of the Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology No. XI). Jerusalem, 2019.
External links
- Bet Guvrin-Maresha National Park – official site
- Pictures of Maresha
- Ancient Maresha – Historical Sites in Israel on YouTube