Bayt 'Itab - Geography

Geography

Bayt ʿIṭāb was located 17.5 kilometres (10.9 mi) south southwest of Jerusalem, on a high mountain 665 metres (2,182 ft) above sea level, overlooking some lower mountains peaks below. A Roman road ran along a narrow ridge to the south of the village which also passed by Solomon's Pools. A low cliff to the east of the village was known as 'Arâk elظJemâl ("the cliff, cavern or buttress of the camels").

Southeast of the village on the main road was the chief village spring known as ʿAin Beit ʿAṭāb (Arabic: بيت عطاب عين‎) or ʿAin Haud. Below this spring to the northwest, was a pool known as Birket 'Atab with its own spring, ٔAin el-Birkeh. Another spring nearby was known as 'Ain el Khanzierh ("the spring of the sow"). Connecting the village to the chief spring was a rock tunnel said to be "of great antiquity," the entrance of which was known only to those well acquainted with the site. This cavern or tunnel, known in Arabic as Mgharat Bīr el-Hasuta, ("Cave of the Well of Hasuta") is "evidently artificial," and was hewn into the rock. Some 250 feet long, it runs in a south-south-west direction from the village emerging as a vertical shaft (6 ft x 5 ft x 10 ft deep) about 60 yards away from the spring that supplied the village with water. The average height of the tunnel is about 5 to 8 feet with a width of about 18 feet. There were two entrances to it from the village, one in the west, and the other at the center, the latter being closed at one author's time of writing in the 19th century.