Maresha

Maresha was an Iron Age city mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, whose remains have been excavated at Tell Sandahanna (Arabic name), an archaeological mound or 'tell' renamed after its identification to Tel Maresha (Hebrew: תל מראשה). The ancient Judahite city became Idumaean after the fall of Judah in 586 BCE, and after Alexander's conquest of the region in 332 BCE became Hellenised under the name or Marissa (Greek: Μαρίσσα) . The tell is situated in Israel's Shephelah region, i.e. in the foothills of the Judaean Mountains, about 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) south of Beit Gubrin. Excavations revealed that Maresha was inhabited (not necessarily continuously) during the Iron Age, the Persian period, and the Hellenistic period. The Hasmonean ruler John Hyrcanus captured the city in 113/112 BCE, ending its status as a major Hellenistic center. Maresha remained sparsely populated until its ultimate destruction by the Parthians in 40 BCE, after which it was abandoned. Maresha was first excavated in 1898–1900 by the British archaeologists Bliss and Macalister on behalf of the Palestine Exploration Fund and again after 1989 by Israeli archaeologist Amos Kloner on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority. Most of the artifacts of the British excavation are to be found today in the Istanbul Archaeology Museums. This site is now protected as part of Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park and its burial caves are recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.