Fifteen-hundred year-old Jewish village found near Beersheba

Fifteen-hundred year-old Jewish village found near Beersheba
Sunday, 2 September, 2012

Purification ritual baths (Mikveh) and public buildings from the Byzantine Era were discovered in an archaeological dig carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority. The discovery was made during work on widening Road No. 6, north of Beersheba.

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Before the Trans-Israel Highway Company paved Road No. 6 southwards, the Antiquities Authority carried out an archaeological dig in the area and discovered remains of two purification ritual baths, and two public buildings from the Byzantine Period (6th century CE). These may have served the Jews who lived in the large settlement which existed here. The public buildings were built of hewn ashlars, and both have remains of a platform attached to the wall facing the direction of Jerusalem.

According to Nir Shimshon-Faran, head of the excavation for the Authority, it seems that the public buildings, judging by their character and direction, served as synagogues or seminaries. The village itself is located about 8 kilometers from a synagogue found in the ruins of the village of Rimon which also dates from the Byzantine period. According to evidence found in the excavation, this Jewish settlement was abandoned in an organized fashion at the end of the 6th century, or at the beginning of the 7th century, with the advent of the Islamic conquest. About a hundred years later, a new village was established here and its inhabitants did not make use of the previous ruins. This is witnessed by the fact that their floors covered over one of the Mikvehs and part of the public building.

In view of the impressive remains, the managements of the Trans-Israel Road Company, decided to preserve the finds, and allow them to be opened to the public, as they have done with finds in other sections of Road No. 6. Excavations have now finished, and a team from the Antiquities Authority are preparing the restoration work.

(Courtesy Israel Antiquities Authority)

 

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