Maresha

Caves of Maresha
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Location	Shfela, Israel,
Part of	Caves of Maresha and Bet-Guvrin in the Judean Lowlands as a Microcosm of the Land of the Caves
Criteria	Cultural: (v)
Reference	1370
Inscription	2014 (38th Session)
Coordinates	31°35′35″N 34°53′54″E / 31.59306°N 34.89833°E
	Location of Maresha in Israel

Tel Maresha (Hebrew: תל מראשה) is the tell (archaeological mound) of the biblical Iron Age city of Maresha, and of the subsequent, post-586 BCE Idumean city known by its Hellenised name Marisa,^[1] Arabised as Marissa (ماريسا).^[2] The tell is situated in Israel's Shephelah region, i.e. in the foothills of the Judaean Mountains, about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) southeast of Beit Gubrin.

Excavations revealed that Maresha was inhabited (not necessarily continuously) during the Iron Age, the Persian period, and the Hellenistic period.^[3] John Hyrcanus of the Hasmonean dynasty seized Maresha in 113/112 BCE, leading to its decline and eventual desertion. The city faced its ultimate destruction at the hands of the Parthians in 40 BCE.^[4]

Maresha was first excavated in 1898–1900 by the British archaeologists Bliss and Macalister on behalf of the Palestine Exploration Fund and again after 1989 by Israeli archaeologist Amos Kloner on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority.^[1] Most of the artifacts of the British excavation are to be found today in the Istanbul Archaeology Museums.

This site is now protected as part of Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park and its burial caves are recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.^[5]

^ ^a ^b Avraham Negev and Shimon Gibson (2001). "Mreshah (Tell); Marissa; Sandahannah (Tell)". Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land. New York and London: Continuum. p. 315. ISBN 0-8264-1316-1.
^ The Interpreter's Bible,1956, Abingdon Press, Volume VI, page 897
^ Kloner, Amos; Stern, Ian (2007). "Idumea in the Late Persian Period (Fourth Century b.c.e.)". In Lipschits, Oded; Knoppers, Gary N.; Albertz, Rainer (eds.). Judah and the Judeans in the Fourth Century B.C.E. Penn State University Press. pp. 139–143. ISBN 9781575065809.
^ Regev, Dalit (2023). "Sidonians at Marisa (Maresha)". 'Atiqot / עתיקות. 110: 65. ISSN 0792-8424.
^ "Caves of Maresha and Bet-Guvrin in the Judean Lowlands as a Microcosm of the Land of the Caves". UNESCO.

[NegevGibson-1] Avraham Negev and Shimon Gibson (2001). "Mreshah (Tell); Marissa; Sandahannah (Tell)". Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land. New York and London: Continuum. p. 315. ISBN 0-8264-1316-1.

[2] The Interpreter's Bible,1956, Abingdon Press, Volume VI, page 897

[KlSt07-3] Kloner, Amos; Stern, Ian (2007). "Idumea in the Late Persian Period (Fourth Century b.c.e.)". In Lipschits, Oded; Knoppers, Gary N.; Albertz, Rainer (eds.). Judah and the Judeans in the Fourth Century B.C.E. Penn State University Press. pp. 139–143. ISBN 9781575065809.

[4] Regev, Dalit (2023). "Sidonians at Marisa (Maresha)". 'Atiqot / עתיקות. 110: 65. ISSN 0792-8424.

[5] "Caves of Maresha and Bet-Guvrin in the Judean Lowlands as a Microcosm of the Land of the Caves". UNESCO.

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