Israeli Kids are Archaeologists For a Day at Beit Guvrin

The Institute for Archaeological Seminars at Beit Guvrin invited families and children to visit Tel Maresha in Beit Guvrin, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Israel’s Lachish region.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

Israel is rich in antiquities waiting to be discovered, and what better time than summer break for children to get a chance to become archaeologists for a day?

The Institute for Archaeological Seminars at Beit Guvrin invited families and children to visit Tel Maresha in Beit Guvrin, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Israel’s Lachish region.

Beit Guvrin, the birthplace of King Herod, features underground building systems dating back to the Greek period, along with the remains of oil production, weaving facilities, cisterns, baths and more.

Other archaeological finds have been traced to the Roman and Crusader eras.

The experience includes crawling by lantern light inside an ancient underground labyrinth and finding artifacts from ancient times.

Families dig and sift dirt searching for and finding ancient pieces of glass or metal, coins, pottery shards and other pieces of antiquity.

Tel Maresha was a community that existed during the First Temple period and was fortified by King Rehoboam. It was destroyed in a battle between the Hasmoneans and Herod in 40 BCE. The survivors relocated to nearby Beit Guvrin, which was an important town during the Roman and Byzantine eras.

Photos by Yoav Dudkevitch/TPS