Near Haifa - Beit She’arim

Beneath the fertile soil of Carmel, 19km south of Haifa, the remains of the members of the arcane Hebrew judicial council, the Sanhedrin, rested peacefully for nearly 2000 years- Beginning in 1936, excavations at Beit She’arim disturbed their graves wnen’archeologists found an ancient synagogue and astonishing system of catacombs. Beit She’arim was the gathering place of the Sanhedrin, recognized by the Roman Empire in the 2nd century AD as the Supreme Rabbinical Council, the judicial authority over all of world Jewry. Two hundred years later, it had become a sacred (and secret) burial ground for Jews who were barred from Jerusalem.

Arche-ologists have uncovered a labyrinth of some 20 caves whose walls are lined with dozens of intricately adorned sarcophagi, including one of Rabbi Yehuda haNassi, first president of the Sanhedrin and compiler of the Mishnah. According to inscriptions found on the sarcophagi, many of the buried were brought from as far away as Sidon and Tyre, Babylon, and southern Arabia.

From the bus stop, follow the orange signs for Beit She’arim down Izrael St. Near the end of a 20-minute walk, you’ll pass the ruins of an ancient synagogue and olive press. The steep road uphill on the left leads to a statue commemorating Alexander Zaid, an early Jewish settler, and the ruins of an ancient basilica. Continue down the windy path to reach the entrance to the catacombs and museum.

Many buses from Haifa go near Beit She’arim but bus #301 (every 20min., NIS5.50) is most convenient. Ask the driver to let you off at Beit She’arim archaeological site, not the mosbav. (Catacombs and museum tel. 83 16 43. Open Sat.-Thurs. 8am-5pm, Fri. 8am-4pm. Admission NIS10, students NIS7.5. Maps N1S0.50.)