Caves of Maresha and Bet-Guvrin in the Judean Lowlands as a Microcosm of the Land of the Caves World Heritage Site

Official name

Caves of Maresha and Bet-Guvrin in the Judean Lowlands as a Microcosm of the Land of the Caves | UNESCO

Country

Israel | Map

Continent

Asia

Location

31.6011° Lat, 34.9000° Lon | Map

Code

1370

Time Zone

Asia/Jerusalem (IST, +0200)

Current Time

Category

Cultural

Description

Inscribed 2014. The archaeological site contains some 3,500 underground chambers distributed among distinct complexes carved in the thick and homogenous soft chalk of Lower Judea under the former towns of Maresha and Bet Guvrin. Situated on the crossroads of trade routes to Mesopotamia and Egypt, the site bears witness to the region’s tapestry of cultures and their evolution over more than 2,000 years from the 8 th century BCE—when Maresha, the older of the two towns was built—to the time of the Crusaders. These quarried caves served as cisterns, oil presses, baths, columbaria (dovecotes), stables, places of religious worship, hideaways and, on the outskirts of the towns, burial areas. Some of the larger chambers feature vaulted arches and supporting pillars.