Rock-cut tombs in ancient Israel: Difference between revisions

The ruins of [[Beit She'arim National Park|Beit She'arim]] (Sheikh Abrekh in arabic) in the [[Galilee]] preserve a vast necropolis with catacombs containing a large number of rock-cut Jewish tombs from the late 2nd to 6th centuries CE.<ref>''The Oxford encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East'', Volume 1, pp. 309–311.</ref><ref name=Stern2011>{{cite book |first= Karen B. |last= Stern |title= Reading Between the Lines: Jewish Mortuary Practices in Text and Archaeology |work= Unearthing Jerusalem: 150 Years of Archaeological Research in the Holy City |editor-first1= Katharina |editor-last1= Galor |editor-first2= Gideon |editor-last2= Avni |publisher= Pennsylvania State University Press |year= 2011 |page= 101 |isbn= 9781575062235 |url= https://www.worldhistory.biz/download567/1575062232UnearthingJerusalem_worldhistory.biz.pdf |access-date=12 April 2020}}</ref> The ancient city of [[Beit She'arim National Park|Besara]], or Beit She'arim, was located near what is now the modern town of Tivon. According to various sources, it was one of the most highly desired burial places for Jews in the ancient world, second only to the [[Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery|Mount of Olives]] in its desirability. This prestige is attributed to Beit She'arim being named as the burial place of Yehuda HaNasi (Judah the Prince), and is supported by its having the "highest concentration of graphite associated with late ancient [[Levant|Levantine]] Jewish populations."<ref>Faust, Avraham, and Shlomo Bunimovitz. “The Judahite Rock-Cut Tomb: Family Response at a Time of Change.” ''Israel Exploration Journal'', vol. 58, no. 2, 2008, pp. 150–170. ''JSTOR'', www.jstor.org/stable/27927202. Accessed 16 Nov. 2020.</ref> There are a total of 21 excavated catacombs currently excavated, though some experts estimate the remaining undiscovered remains could number in the hundreds or even thousands, with as much as two-thirds of the catacombs geographic spread remaining to be explored.