The Guvrin Valley has a long and diverse history, illustrating the importance of the Shephelah as the buffer of the hill country to the coastal plain and highway. Tel Maresha is an ancient city in the Guvrin Valley. It was occupied in the Iron Age, Persian and Hellenistic period and was destroyed by the Hasmoneans in the end of the 2nd century BC. Rehoboam fortified the city as a storehouse and armory; Sennacherib conquered it in 701 BC. Egyptians used it as a place for slave trading and it became a Gentile city. It was then conquered during the Maccabean Period and its citizens were forced to be circumcised or be exiled. It is likely the birthplace of Herod the Great, so his family was one of that forced conversion. In AD 200 it was renamed Eleutheropolis and it became quite prosperous, even building an oval amphitheater for gladiator games.
The fame of the site is due to its thousands of man made caves, cavities, and tombs. The hard surface area (nari) provides a solid roof while the white chalk below is both easy to work with and easy to erode. Over the centuries, these caves were used for many things: raising pigeons, ritual bathing, tombs, olive presses, residential homes, water cisterns, and mazes.
About 20 ritual bathing caves have been found, dating to the Hellenistic period (3rd-2nd century BC), and is typical of Idumean purification methods. A ritual bathing cave would consist of a staircase and two small chambers. Water was poured over the bather sitting on a seat in one of the chambers, while the person pouring the water from the other chamber would not see the bather.
Also at this site are 80 bell caves, named for the shape that quarrying produced. Workers would open a small hole in the top and excavate downward. The radius increased as the pit descended, sometimes breaking into an adjoining pit. The chalk was exported to create mortar and plaster.
Columbarium
One of those incredible uses is the raising of pigeons (turtle-doves) in a columbarium for temple sacrifices in Jerusalem as well as for food and fertilizer. A columbarium is a massive cave with thousands of little pigeon roosts for nesting. The pigeon or turtle-dove was the minimum offering a poor family could make at the temple in Jerusalem, thus, Joseph and Mary offered two-turtle doves as a purification offering to the LORD for Mary having opened her womb. Therefore, the sacrificial system created quite an enterprise for such elaborate caves for pigeons to be raised.
Biblical Relevance of Maresha
When David was hiding from Saul, he hid in the caves of the Guvrin Valley. David writes how these caves are his "rock" and "fortress." In the past, I always imagined rock walls that would rise up to protect David, but in this case, they are rock hewn caves in which he hides. David also writes how these pits becomes snares for his enemy to fall into, as literally, there were thousands in the area and one had to really be careful when walking through the area. Approximately eight Psalms speak of David writing in caves like these. (Psalm 7, 17, 31, 34, 22, 52, 57, and 59.) Psalm 31 is a great example of David's experience.
The fame of the site is due to its thousands of man made caves, cavities, and tombs. The hard surface area (nari) provides a solid roof while the white chalk below is both easy to work with and easy to erode. Over the centuries, these caves were used for many things: raising pigeons, ritual bathing, tombs, olive presses, residential homes, water cisterns, and mazes.
About 20 ritual bathing caves have been found, dating to the Hellenistic period (3rd-2nd century BC), and is typical of Idumean purification methods. A ritual bathing cave would consist of a staircase and two small chambers. Water was poured over the bather sitting on a seat in one of the chambers, while the person pouring the water from the other chamber would not see the bather.
Also at this site are 80 bell caves, named for the shape that quarrying produced. Workers would open a small hole in the top and excavate downward. The radius increased as the pit descended, sometimes breaking into an adjoining pit. The chalk was exported to create mortar and plaster.
Columbarium
One of those incredible uses is the raising of pigeons (turtle-doves) in a columbarium for temple sacrifices in Jerusalem as well as for food and fertilizer. A columbarium is a massive cave with thousands of little pigeon roosts for nesting. The pigeon or turtle-dove was the minimum offering a poor family could make at the temple in Jerusalem, thus, Joseph and Mary offered two-turtle doves as a purification offering to the LORD for Mary having opened her womb. Therefore, the sacrificial system created quite an enterprise for such elaborate caves for pigeons to be raised.
22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” (Luke 2:22-24)
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| Columbarium Cave Entrance at Tel Maresha |
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| Columbarium with Niches for Raising Pigeons (photo not mine) |
Biblical Relevance of Maresha
When David was hiding from Saul, he hid in the caves of the Guvrin Valley. David writes how these caves are his "rock" and "fortress." In the past, I always imagined rock walls that would rise up to protect David, but in this case, they are rock hewn caves in which he hides. David also writes how these pits becomes snares for his enemy to fall into, as literally, there were thousands in the area and one had to really be careful when walking through the area. Approximately eight Psalms speak of David writing in caves like these. (Psalm 7, 17, 31, 34, 22, 52, 57, and 59.) Psalm 31 is a great example of David's experience.
Psalm 31:1-2
1 In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me!2 Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily!Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me!
In Joshua 15:44 Maresha is listed as being in the fourth of ten administrative districts of Judah.
In 2 Chronicles 11:8 we read how Rehoboam built fortifications at Maresha. The remains of these ancient walls are still visible today.
In 2 Chronicles 14:8-15 King Asa of Judah takes his stand at Maresha against the army of Cush.
In Micah 5:15 Micah prophesies a conqueror coming against Maresha.
Sidonian Burial Caves
On the east side of Tel Maresha are the Sidonian Burial Caves, an extraordinary rock-carved and hand-painted burial complex. It belonged to Phoenician traders from Sidon that settled in southern Judea after Alexander the Great’s conquests (332 BC). The structure is named after Apollophanaes, who was the leader of the Sidonian community in Maresha. His family tomb was carved out in the 3rd century BC, and was used for burial of several generations.
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| Sidonian Burial Cave |
Above the southern sarcophagus chamber, on the transverse of the flat door frame, is an important Greek inscription which reads:
"Apollophanaes, son of Sesmaios, thirty-three years chief of the Sidonians at Maresha, reputed the best and most kin-loving of all his times: he died, having lived seventy-four years".The inscription explicitly names the name of the city Maresha, thus establishing an accurate identification of the city.
To the right of the sarcophagus chambers, on the south wall, are illustrations of a hippopotamus and a crocodile, while two large fish are on the right side. The Greek inscription reads:
"(grave) of Apollodoros, son of Zabbaios. Let nobody touch this, and if he will not hearken, then may not his (grave) rest undisturbed. In the year 117 on the 30th of Panemos".
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