Photo: Menahem Kahana

The Heliodorus Stele, a looted artifact at the Israel Museum, tells a story about Michael Steinhardt’s complicated legacy of giving and taking.

Source: Michael Steinhardt’s looted Israeli antiquity came from same caves his donations helped preserve

Photo: Shmuel Bar-Am

Discovering ‘treasures’ and spreading wings at Beit Guvrin.

Source: Book takes children on an archaeological adventure in Israel – review

“I lay with another but I love you, the one most dear to me.”

Source: The Strange Afterlife of a Mysterious Tomb Inscription

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Israel – Caves of Maresha and Bet-Guvrin in the Judean Lowlands as a Microcosm of the Land of the Caves

The presence in the Judean Lowlands of thick and homogeneous chalk sub-strata enabled numerous caves to be excavated and managed by Man. The property includes a complete selection of chambers and man-made subterranean networks, of different forms and for different activities. They are situated underneath the ancient twin cities of Maresha and Bet Guvrin, and in the surrounding areas, constituting a “city under a city”. They bear witness to a succession of historical periods of excavation and use, over a period of 2,000 years. Initially, the excavations were quarries, but they were later converted for various agricultural and local craft industry purposes, including oil presses, columbaria, stables, underground cisterns and channels, baths, tombs and places of worship, and hiding places during troubled times, etc. With their density, diversified activities, use over two millennia and the quality of their state of preservation, the complexes attain an Outstanding Universal Value.

Overview

Source: Caves of Maresha and Bet-Guvrin in the Judean Lowlands as a Microcosm of the Land of the Caves

Israel – Caves of Maresha and Bet-Guvrin in the Judean Lowlands as a Microcosm of the Land of the Caves

Israel, one of the world’s most kid-friendly countries, offers plenty for families to do, from adventures in birdwatching and cave spelunking to racing down water park slides and lazy days at the beach. Children are highly valued in Israeli culture, and locals will dote on little ones, even welcoming children into upscale restaurants and weddings (and sometimes lecturing parents on best childcare practices!).

Travelling with children in any region in Israel is as easy as ABC. Here are our top picks across the country.

Upper Galilee

A major stopover for birds migrating between Africa, Europe and Asia, Israel is a serious destination for birdwatchers of all ages.

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Photo: Times of Israel

Whether for the visitor or the participant, some tips for exploring the remains of the ancient past.

Source: A Guide To Digging Archeology

Photo: Shmuel Bar-Am

Caves become Israel’s eighth site to join the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Source: Israel’s Beit Guvrin celebrated as UNESCO World Heritage site

Photo: Shlomo Aronson Architects

The 480 caves of Beit Guvrin-Maresha, Israel’s newest UNESCO World Heritage Site, are very cool – in more ways than one.

Source: The land of a thousand caves