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iblatt Says: On a hill overlooking the Jezreel Valley stands a statue of a bold, muscular young man mounted on his horse. He seems alert and ready for action, inspecting the vast valley with his eyes. This is the statue of Alexander Zaid (1886-1936), a legendary figure in recent Israeli...
The Most Important Ancient Necropolis
iblatt Says: During the 3rd and 4th centuries AD Beit-She'arim was a very desirable place to get buried in: a thriving town which used to be the seat of the Sanhedrin (the Council of the Elders), where the great Rabbi Yehuda Ha-Nassi, who compiled the Mishna (codex of Jewish laws) chose...
iblatt Says: Ancient Beit-She'arim was a thriving Jewish community between the second and fourth centuries AD. On the hill, above the famous necropolis, you will find the remains of the town's synagogue right next to the road.Arches, walls, capitals all attest to the former glory of this...
gubbi1 Says: This is the largest of the excavated caves in the National Park. It is 75 meters in length and width with many rooms branching off the main corridors. You will find very beautifully decorated coffins. These decorations mainly show animals like bulls, eagles and fishes. There...
gubbi1 Says: In this cave you will find the tomb of Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi which turned the site of Bet Shearim into the important burial cave town. On the way to the grave of Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi you will pass tombs of other Rabbis. There were candles burning in the cave and I decided to...
gubbi1 Says: This cave structure has twelve rooms all together. It is built quite impressively into a narrow rock gap and has two levels. There are several inscriptions around the cave of which one says in Hebrew: 'This is the last resting place of Yodan son of Levy, Levy is in Eternity,...
gubbi1 Says: This is the cave of the Lulavim, which means plam branch referring to engraved palm branches on the wall inside of the cave. There is an inscription on the lintel of the door which says: 'Lord, remember Thy servant Sarcadus'. It is possible to go inside the cave, which is...
gubbi1 Says: The Cave of the Lone Sarcophagus had a front wall with an arch. As original plan the cave was a coffin burial, but arcades were added and more burial places hewn into the rock. One decorated coffin was found in the cave. There is an opening on the right of the cave from...
gubbi1 Says: Above one of the doors there is an inscription in greek: 'The burial place of Theodosia, also called Sarah, from Tyre'. The name shows Phoenician origins.
gubbi1 Says: The 'Mausoleum' are the remains of a squared building which served as a foundation for a stone memorial.
gubbi1 Says: This structure of benches is located ontop of the 'Cave of the Coffins'. It served as a meeting place to commemorate the dead.
gubbi1 Says: The Unexcavated Cave has a broken door, which indicates that grave robbery took place here. These stone doors are typical here.
gubbi1 Says: The cistern ('Large Cistern') served as burial site. Many vesels made of glass and pottery were found here aswell as coins from Byzantine periode.
Cave of Itzak Zaira son of Shimon
gubbi1 Says: The 'Cave of Itzak Zaira Son of Shimon' is said to be a typical group of tombs for Bet Shearim. It has a courtyard which is reached by stairs and has 4 rectangular tombs. The facade has a stone door imitating a wooden door.
Burial Coffin Detail - Writing (ancient Hebrew)
Martin_S. Says: Here in this picture you can see some ancient Hebrew, the letters are read from right to left, so at the far right the first letter is Kuf, the second is Yud and the third is Resh....the other two I could not make out so I am not sure what is written here, the name of the...
Burial Coffin Detail - Wreath?, Fruit and Flower
Martin_S. Says: Here is what again looks like a simple U shaped wreath along with fruits and flowers...also you can see the abstract geometric design around the top of the coffin.
Helpfulness
Alexander Zaid whose staute you see here was one of the originators of the group known as "The Guard" (HaShomer). This group was formed to protect the isolated and sparsely populated Jewish settlements here before the state of Israel was formed. These settlements were being constantly attacked by Moslem raiders from the surrounding towns and villages, the raiders were well armed and the Jewish settlements had almost NO arms. The Guards of Alexander Zaid saved many, many lives by providing a deterrent to these raiders. Here is what I found on the internet:
Zaid, Alexander (1886-1938)
Alexander Zaid, pioneer and founder of HaShomer, 1886-1938
Born in Siberia, Alexander Zaid moved to Vilna at the age of 13 and subsequently joined the Zionist labor movement. In 1904 he was one of the first pioneers of the Second Aliyah to reach Eretz Yisrael, working in Rishon LeZion and Petah Tikvah. He was wounded by Arabs in Zikhron Ya'akov, and then moved to Jerusalem where he worked as a stonemason.
In 1907, he was one of the founders of a secret defense organization which was at the originis of the HaShomer organization. HaShomer was established in Kfar Tavor in the Lower Galilee in 1909. He devoted himself to the organization until his death.
In 1916, Zaid joined a group of HaShomer members who settled in Upper Galilee in what was to become Kfar Giladi. He stayed there for 10 years and then moved to nearby Tel Hai, and then to Sheikh Abrek in the Jezreel Valley to take charge of guarding the neighboring settlements for the Jewish National Fund. He was repeatedly faced with dangerous situations, but never abandoned his position, even when he was wounded by Arab rioters in 1932.
He was killed by Arabs while he was on guard duty in 1938. A statue of Zaid on horseback with a commanding view of the Jezreel Valley was erected at nearby Givat Zaid.
Written Jul 1, 2005
Beit Shariem - Sarcopagai room
Martin_S. Says: It was very interesting to see this room where the sarcopagai were still in the process of being cut from the material of the cave wall itself. As the cave was dug deeper and deeper, as more and more chambers were added, the workers would cut the sarcopagai out as they dug...
Beit Shariem - inside a burial cave
Martin_S. Says: Inside one of the burial caves you can see the "chamber" where the body was laid down in its final resting place. This is a period before the use of coffins and the size of the chiseled out "chamber" was determined by the actual size of the body to be placed there.
Beit Shariem - Door detail, cave entrance
Martin_S. Says: Here you can see one of the burial caves that has not yet been excavated. The door has broken off its hinges and leans into the chamber. The chamber has, over time, become filled with debris all of which needs to be cleaned out during excavation.
Main attraction of the National Park of Bet She'arim is the Jewish underground cemetary which was dug into the rocks at the ancient city Bet Shearim. A footpath connects the different caves of which...
Beit Shariem - Rabbi burial and wannabes
Beit Shariem, near Kiryat Tivon in the north is the burial place of Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi. Many people (wannabes) wanted to be buried in close proximity. The result is a system of burial caves covering...
Right next to the town of Tiv'on, you will find the burial place of some of the most prominent scholars and leades of Judea during the Roman rule, around two thousands years ago.
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