Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park

Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park is a national park in the Judaean Foothills of central Israel, containing a large network of caves recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

The national park includes the remains of two historical towns. The first, Maresha, was an important town of the Kingdom of Judah during the First Temple period, which later continued through the Persian and Hellenistic periods and came to be inhabited largely by Idumeans. It is located in the southern part of the park. The northern part contains the remains of Beit Guvrin, a settlement that developed after the destruction of Maresha by the Parthians in 40 BCE and became the main town of the region. It was devastated in the Jewish–Roman wars, rebuilt, and in 200 CE it was elevated to city status and given the Greek name Eleutheropolis. After the Muslim conquest it became known as Bayt Jibrin, remaining a village (with a period of Crusader rule) until it was depopulated in 1948. Archaeological artifacts unearthed at the site include a large Jewish cemetery, a Roman-Byzantine amphitheater, a Byzantine church, public baths, mosaics and burial caves.