Beth Shearim Necropolis: a landmark of Jewish renewal (World Heritage)
Beth Shearim, located between Haifa and Nazareth and now designated as an Israeli National Park, developed into the most important Jewish burial site outside Jerusalem after the suppression of the Bar Kochba uprising against the Romans in 135 AD. The ancient site of Beth Shearim, destroyed around 350 AD, was located on a hill where the remains of a basilica from the 2nd century can now be found. In the catacombs of the necropolis there are chambers with sarcophagi with numerous decorations and inscriptions.
In 220 AD, according to historyaah, the Rabbi Yehuda ha-Nasi was buried in Beth Shearim, who had settled the Sanhedrin here as the highest authority for Jewish matters in the Roman Empire. As chairman of the Sanhedrin, he endeavored to consolidate and stabilize the Jewish communities. His name is primarily associated with the elaboration of the Mishnah, the written fixation and thematic summary of the orally transmitted additions to the Torah. In doing so, he made a significant contribution to the religious and spiritual renewal of Judaism.
Beth Shearim Necropolis: A Landmark of Jewish Renewal: Facts Hide table
| Official title: | Beth Shearim Necropolis: a landmark of Jewish renewal |
| Cultural monument: | Necropolis with underground tombs |
| Continent: | Asia |
| Country: | Israel |
| Location: | Southeast of Haifa; Beth Shearim National Park |
| Appointment: | 2015 |
| Meaning: | A symbol of ancient Judaism, which, through its interweaving with the work of Rabbi Jehuda ha-Nasi, documents the religious and cultural revival after the suppression of the uprising against the Romans in 135 |
Grave caves in Marescha and Bet Guvrin (World Heritage)
This archaeological site lies below that of the cities of Marescha and Bet Guvrin. It comprises an underground system of around 3500 chambers dug into the limestone rock. Since the trade routes to Mesopotamia and Egypt crossed at this point, evidence of the different cultures can be found here and show their development over a period of 2000 years, from the 8th century BC. BC – the hour of birth of the older of the two cities, Marescha – up to the Crusades.
The caves served as cisterns, oil presses, baths, dovecotes, stables, places of religious worship, hiding places and – on their edges – as grave sites. Some of the larger chambers are decorated with round arches and pillars.
Grave caves at Marescha and Bet Guvrin: facts
| Official title: | Grave caves in Marescha and Bet Guvrin |
| Cultural monument: | Network of underground spaces that form a “city below the city” and have been used for a variety of purposes over a period of 2000 years; Originally there were quarries at this location, from which the cave system was later created. |
| continent | Asia |
| Country: | Israel |
| Location: | below the cities of Marescha and Bet Guvrin in Judea in southern Israel |
| Appointment: | 2014 |
| Meaning: | Due to the concentration of the finds, the variety of forms of use, the long continuous settlement and the excellent state of preservation, UNESCO attaches universal value to the complex. |
Archaeological sites in the Carmel Mountains (World Heritage)
The Carmel caves Tabun, Skhul, Wad and Kebara contain Paleolithic settlement histories, with skeletons of both Neanderthals and early modern humans.
Archaeological Sites in the Carmel Mountains: Facts
| Official title: | Sites of human evolution in the Carmel Mountains |
| Cultural monument: | Prehistoric caves on the western slopes of the Carmel Mountains (23 km long, 546 m high) in northern Israel with traces of early man; four caves of early settlement areas (Tabun, Skhul, Wad and Kebara) and their terraces with elements from 500,000 years ago as well as references to the Neanderthals and the archaic Homo sapiens; chronologically continuous finds of the Paleolithic cultural sequence from the epochs Acheuléen (500,000 years ago), Moustérien (250,000 to 45,000 BC) and Natufien (15,000 to 11500 BC); various graves with human skeletons and stone architecture as evidence of the transition from the hunter society to the sedentary period of agriculture and animal husbandry |
| Continent: | Asia |
| Country: | Israel |
| Location: | Haifa, northwest Israel |
| Appointment: | 2012 |
| Meaning: | Unique evidence of tracing human evolution over 500,000 years; exceptional archive of early human life in Southwest Asia; outstanding documents for the transformation of the hunting society into an agricultural way of life |
Baha’i Sacred Sites (World Heritage)
The Baha’i religion goes back to the work of Mirza Husain Ali (1817-1892), called Baha Ullah (“Glory of God”). It was shaped by the ideas of Babism, the religion founded by Sajjid Ali Mohammed (1820-1850), called Bab. The world heritage includes 26 buildings, monuments and other sites in eleven locations. Central locations are Akko and Haifa, with the mausoleums and memorials of the two religious founders.
Baha’i Sacred Sites: Facts
| Official title: | Baha’i holy sites in Haifa and Western Galilee |
| Cultural monument: | International Center of the Baha’i Religious Community in Israel; In the middle of the 19th century in Iran, the monotheistic world religion of the Baha’i with over 7 million members worldwide (mainly in India, USA, Iran); seven holy places with 26 buildings of a religious, spiritual and administrative nature built from the end of the 19th century in Haifa, Akko and smaller places in western Galilee; in the center is the mausoleum of Sajjid Ali Mohammed, called ÈBab “(Shiite“ Gate to the Hidden Imam ”), founder of Babism, the spiritual doctrine of the Baha’i religion (* 1820, executed in Iran in 1850); extensive magnificent Persian gardens and Baha’is shrine with a golden dome (completed in 1953), the symbol of Haifa; in Akko Shrine of Baha Ullah (“Glory of God”, Mirza Husain Ali, 1817-1892), founder of the Bahai religion; heavily frequented pilgrimage sites of the Baha’i community |
| Continent: | Asia |
| Country: | Israel |
| Location: | Haifa, Akko and nine other places |
| Appointment: | 2008 |
| Meaning: | Outstanding testimony to the monotheistic Bahai religion; holy places with a long pilgrimage tradition that extends to the present day; fascinating example of the sacred center of a worldwide faith with impressive buildings |
