Beit She'arim National Park

Beit She'arim National Park

Beit She'arim (Hebrew: בֵּית שְׁעָרִים, Arabic: بيت الغرباء bayt al-ġurabāʾ‎), also known as Beth She'arim or Besara (Greek), literally The Strangers House, is the archeological site of a Jewish town and a large number of ancient rock-cut Jewish tombs. The necropolis is part of the Beit She'arim National Park, which borders the town of Kiryat Tiv'on on the northeast and is located close to the modern moshav of Beit She'arim. It is situated 20 km east of Haifa in the southern foothills of the Lower Galilee. The park is managed by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.

In 2002 it was proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and as of 2012 is on the "Tentative List". The proposal describes the site as follows:

The town's vast necropolis, carved out of soft limestone, contains more than 30 burial cave systems. Although only a portion of the necropolis has been excavated, it has been likened to a book inscribed in stone. Its catacombs, mausoleums, and sarcophagi are adorned with elaborate symbols and figures as well as an impressive quantity of incised and painted inscriptions in Hebrew, Aramaic, Palmyrene, and Greek, documenting two centuries of historical and cultural achievement. The wealth of artistic adornments contained in this, the most ancient extensive Jewish cemetery in the world, is unparalleled anywhere.

According to Moshe Sharon, following Kutcher, the name of the city was more correctly Beit She'arayim (the House (or Village) of Two Gates).

Read more about Beit She'arim National Park:  History, Jewish Necropolis, Glassmaking Industry, Recent Discoveries

Famous quotes containing the words national and/or park:

    Just so before we’re international,
    We’re national and act as nationals.
    Robert Frost (1874–1963)

    and the words never said,
    And the ominous, ominous dancing ahead.
    We sat in the car park till twenty to one
    And now I’m engaged to Miss Joan Hunter Dunn.
    Sir John Betjeman (1906–1984)