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 Beth Guvrin  193 pictures
 3 minutes HQ video Beth-Guvrin replaced Maresha as the most important settlement in the area. It is mentioned for the first time in ancient literature by Josephus Flavius in 68 A.D. as one of the towns conquered by the Roman general Vespasian. Following the destruction of the Second Temple, it continued to exist as a rather crowded Jewish settlement until the Bar-Kochva Revolt, 132-135 A.D. In 200 A.D., Emperor Septimus Severus changed Bet-Guvrin's name to Eleutheropolis ("City of the Free") and granted it municipal status. Two aqueducts brought water from afar, and together with the local waterworks, supplied the needs of the residents. Five highways, all marked with milestones, led to the city from various directions. Besides dwellings, the city boasted an amphitheater and public buildings. The jewish settlement was rehabilitated, and in the 3rd-4th centuries, Bet-Guvrin was mentioned in the Talmud and the Midrashim - Commentaries on the Scriptures - and by its sages such as Rabbi Yonatan and Rabbi Yehuda Ben-Yaakov. From the Roman and the Byzantine periods, a large Jewish cemetery and architectural remains were discovered, as was a synagogue inscription. During the Byzantine period, Bet-Guvrin was an important center of Christianity with a number of churches. Most of the bell caves were dug during the Early Muslim period, and finds from the Crusader period indicate that it was a small fortified city, at the hub of which was a church dedicated in 1136. The city was surrounded by Crusader villages, and apparently the Church of St. Anne was restored about the same time. The Crusader Church    This basilica was most probably a parish church of the crusader town and of neighboring Christian villages. It was built by the Hospitallers within the defense wall for security reasons and connected to the castle by a corridor, a sacristy and an upper level passageway. Roman and Byzantine architectural elements were reused in the interior decoration of the church. However the slightly pointed vault (preserved in the northern aisle) and the square piers with engaged columns make it a typical crusader building. Destroyed by the Muslims after the crusaders' defeat at the battle of Hittin (1187), the church was repaired when the crusaders returned to Beit Govrin for a short while between 1240 and 1244. Following the Mamluk conquest, its northern aisle was turned into a Mosque. In the Ottoman period, storerooms, agricultural and industrial structures were established in the southern part of the church. Roman Amphitheater    A Roman amphitheater was completely exposed in the northwestern end of the town of Beth Govrin. Fights between gladiators, slaves and beasts of prey took place in this amphitheater. Two crossing tunnels under the arena served probably as cages for the animals which were brought up to the arena by an elevator. In the Byzantine period the amphitheater served as a public market. Parts of a large Roman bathhouse were exposed wast of the amphitheater. In includes several impressive arches and the Cauldron ("the hot room"). In the 12th century A.D. a large (about 130 x 180 m) Crusader fortress was built on top of the amphitheater and the bathhouse surrounded by a moat. In its center there was an inner fort (56 x 58 m) with several arches and a mess hall. Mosaics from a church in beth govrin    
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