Beit Guvrin (Eleutheropolis) is the Roman and Crusader successor to ancient Maresha, located in the same national park in the Judean Shephelah. After Maresha was destroyed by the Parthians in 40 BCE, the regional center shifted to Beit Guvrin, which grew into one of the largest cities in Roman and Byzantine Judea.
Eleutheropolis: The Roman City
The Romans named the city Eleutheropolis, “City of Free Men,” and Emperor Septimius Severus granted it city status around 200 CE. The city became an important administrative center with a population that may have reached 10,000, with paved roads, public buildings, and a commercial center. Its strategic position on the road between the coastal plain and the Hebron hills made it a crossroads of trade and military movement.
The Amphitheater
A Roman amphitheater, recently excavated, seated approximately 3,500 spectators and hosted gladiatorial combat and animal fights. The amphitheater is one of the few Roman amphitheaters (as opposed to semicircular theaters) found in Israel, indicating the city’s importance in the Roman provincial system.
Crusader Church
The Crusaders recognized the strategic importance of Beit Guvrin and built a fortified church on the site in the 12th century. The church, dedicated to St. Anne, was a substantial Romanesque building. Its semicircular apse still stands to its full height and is one of the best-preserved examples of Crusader architecture in the Shephelah. The apse, with its carefully dressed stones and narrow window, gives a sense of the scale and ambition of Crusader building in the region.
Crusader Fortress
Alongside the church, the Crusaders built a fortress to control the road between the coast and Hebron. The fortifications included walls, towers, and a keep. After Saladin’s victory at the Battle of Hattin in 1187, Beit Guvrin changed hands several times before being finally destroyed by the Mamluks in the late 13th century, along with most of the Crusader fortifications in the region.
Visit with Hoshen Tours
Beit Guvrin’s amphitheater and Crusader ruins pair naturally with the underground caves of Maresha. Together they form the Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park. Hoshen Tours combines both sites with the Dig for a Day experience.