31°38′58″N 34°58′19″E / 31.6494720°N 34.9720070°E
Hebrew: חורבת עתרי, Arabic: Umm Suweid | |
Location | Jerusalem District, Israel |
---|---|
Region | Shephelah |
Type | settlement |
Area | max 10 dunam |
Height | 416 |
History | |
Periods | Second Temple period |
Cultures | Second Temple Judaism, Roman |
Associated with | Jews, Romans |
Events | First Jewish-Roman War, Bar Kokhba Revolt |
Site notes | |
Archaeologists | Boaz Zissu, Amir Ganor |
Condition | Partially restored |
Public access | Open year round |
"Horvat 'Ethri" is how the excavator, Boaz Zissu, transliterates the Hebrew name |
Horvat 'Ethri (Hebrew: חורבת עתרי, lit. 'Ruin of Ethri'; also spelled Hurvat Itri, Ethri, Atari), or Umm Suweid (Arabic for "mother of the buckthorns"[1]), is an archaeological site situated in the Judean Lowlands in modern-day Israel. Excavations at the site have uncovered the remains of a partially restored Jewish village from the Second Temple period. The site features an ancient synagogue, wine presses, cisterns, mikvehs (ritual baths), stone ossuaries, and an underground hideout system.[2][3]
Damaged and temporarily abandoned during the First Jewish–Roman War, the village was ultimately and violently destroyed during the Bar Kokhba revolt, as evidenced by a destruction layer and a mass grave found in a mikveh, which contained the remains of fifteen individuals, including one showing signs of beheading, as well as broken tools and coins.[2]
The site is identified with Caphethra, a village on the Judaean Foothills mentioned by Josephus as destroyed during a campaign by units of the Legio V Macedonica in the area in 69 CE.[2][4][5]
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