The large cemetery of Beit
She'arim contained many tombs and catacombs, some of them family
tombs, others public burial places. Hewn into the slopes of the hills
southwest of the town, some tombs are small and simple, but many
became, in time, complex networks of catacombs. It would appear that
the cutting of burial caves was an important part of the town's
economy. Over the centuries, the caves were broken into, damaged and
their contents robbed.
The public caves are
particularly large and elaborate, with entrances via large
courtyards. Their decorative stone façades are in Roman
architectural style. The entrances have three openings with heavy
pivoting stone doors, carved in imitation of wooden doors with panels
and nails. From the entrance, one descends several steps to the
burial cave, which consists of a central hallway and a network of
halls, at times two stories high. One of the catacombs consists of 16
burial halls with 400 assorted burial places, including troughs, pit
graves, arcosolia and loculi. Sarcophagi made of local limestone or
marble and a few of clay or lead, were found in the caves. There was
also evidence of burial in wooden coffins, of which only the metal
parts survived.
The walls of the halls were
decorated with carvings, paintings and engravings, providing examples
of Jewish folk art of the period, and also Hellenistic influences.
Obvious Jewish symbols are the seven-branched menorah (candelabrum), the Torah Ark (sometimes in a niche), the lulav (palm
frond), etrog (citron), shofar (ram's horn) and incense shovel. There
are also geometric motifs, figures of humans and animals, ships and
architectural items, such as an arched gateway or a column with a
capital.
Many inscriptions engraved
or painted on the walls and on stone plaques mention famous rabbis,
community leaders, merchants and officials of the town and the
country. Of particular interest are inscriptions naming distant
Jewish communities in Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Babylonia and even in
southern Arabia, from where the remains were brought for burial.
Most of the inscriptions are
in Hebrew and Greek, with a few in Aramaic. The text is usually
short: the name of the deceased and shalom (peace) or haval (alas!).
The longer inscriptions provide information about the deceased, such
as genealogy, occupation and place of origin abroad.
Typical Hebrew inscriptions:
This is the resting place
of Yudan, son of Levi, forever in peace. May his resting place be
[set?] in peace. Of Yudan, son of Levi
This place belongs to
priests. Alas!
A typical Aramaic
inscription:
He who is buried here is
Shim'on the son of Yohanan, and an oath, whoever shall open upon
him shall die of an evil end
Typical Greek inscriptions:
We [are the sons] of
Leontios from Palmyra, the banker
The tomb of Aidesios, head
of the council of elders, from Antiochia
This is the grave of
Leontios, the goldsmith, father of Rabbi Paregorios and Julianos,
the palatinos
Benjamin, the son of
Julius, the textile merchant, son of the most excellent Makrobios
Two elaborate burial
complexes found on the northern slope of the town are particularly
noteworthy. Semi-circular structures in the form of small theaters
with benches, built above the caves, probably served as places for
prayer and sermons when families and friends met on memorial days.
Cave complex No.14 probably
belonged to the family of Rabbi
Judah Hanasi. Hebrew inscriptions mentioning Rabbi Shimon, Rabbi
Gamliel and Rabbi Hanania, the sons and student of Rabbi Judah Hanasi,
were found on the walls:
Simon my son shall be
hakham (president of the Sanhedrin), Gamaliel my son patriarch,
Hanania bar Hama shall preside over the great court
The most important burial
complex (No. 20) has a central corridor, about 50 m. long, from which
numerous halls branch off. Some 130 limestone sarcophagi decorated in
a local version of Roman mortuary style were found here, as well as
marble sarcophagi decorated with mythological scenes, which had been
broken and used for the manufacture of lime in later periods. Most of
the decorations on these sarcophagi are foreign - bulls' heads,
eagles, two lions facing each other - but there are also Jewish
symbols, such as the menorah. Some 20 Hebrew inscriptions were found
on the walls of the cave and on sarcophagi, in which rabbis and
famous persons and members of their families are mentioned:
This is the coffin of
Rabbi Hillel [Halil], the son of Rabbi Levi, who made this cave
This is the coffin of Kyra
Mega, the wife of Rabbi Joshua, son of Levi, Shalom