Beit She'arim necropolis

Beit She’arim necropolis is an extensive Jewish burial complex located near the modern site of Beit She’arim in northern Israel, used chiefly during the Roman and Byzantine periods from the 2nd to the 5th centuries CE. The necropolis comprises rock-cut catacombs, sarcophagi and decorated tomb chambers bearing multilingual inscriptions that document funerary practices and communal networks.

The site gained particular prominence in antiquity after the burial there of Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi (Rabbi Yehudah the Prince) in the early 3rd century CE, which attracted additional burials from Jewish communities across the region. Excavations have documented dozens of burial caves with hundreds of niches and a variety of funerary art and epigraphic evidence that illuminate Jewish life under Roman rule.

The necropolis sits on a ridge overlooking the Jezreel Valley and the Lower Galilee region, within the modern administrative area of Israel’s Haifa District. The remains are preserved within a national park that includes walking routes and an archaeological visitor area.

• World Heritage status: Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015 for its archaeological and epigraphic record of Jewish burial practices from the Roman to Byzantine periods.

What to See #

• Rock-cut catacombs: Extensive underground catacombs carved into the soft limestone with dozens of decorated burial chambers and niches, many bearing inscriptions in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Nabataean scripts.
• Family tombs and notable burials: A number of larger family tombs and sarcophagi attributed to prominent Jewish families and figures from the Roman and Byzantine periods, including associations with Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi.