"Tel Maresha, located in the Judean foothills southwest of Jerusalem, exists on two levels—one a
typical Hellenistic town; the other a subterranean metropolis of cave complexes. These caves, accommodated many of the everyday building, industrial and even ritual needs of a thriving, multi-ethnic community dominated by the Idumeans, the descendants of the Biblical Edomites.
Mentioned already in the Book of Joshua. Tel Maresha expanded greatly in the third century B.C. and became a well-planned Hellenistic city. The Idumeans and their neighbors outfitted the cave complexes below with a variety of industrial features, including columbaria for raising doves, olive presses for producing oil, and looms and dyeing bins for manufacturing textiles. What is more, the chalk excavated from the Tel Maresha caves supplied a ready source of fresh building material for the city above." Bible History Daily
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| Underground caves of Maresha |
Mentioned already in the Book of Joshua. Tel Maresha expanded greatly in the third century B.C. and became a well-planned Hellenistic city. The Idumeans and their neighbors outfitted the cave complexes below with a variety of industrial features, including columbaria for raising doves, olive presses for producing oil, and looms and dyeing bins for manufacturing textiles. What is more, the chalk excavated from the Tel Maresha caves supplied a ready source of fresh building material for the city above." Bible History Daily
And Keilah, and Achzib, and Mareshah; nine cities with their villages:
Joshua 15:44
"Maresha was one of the cities of Judea and is mentioned among the conquests of the ancient Israelites in the Book of Joshua and later in the Books of Chronicles as one of King Rehoboam's fortifications. In the 6th century BC, as result of Zedekiah's rebellion against the Babylonian kingdom and its king Nebuchadnezzar II, the latter occupied the Judean kingdom and sent many of its inhabitants into exile. This marked the end of Maresha as a Jewish (or Judean) city.
Following these events, Edomites who had lived south of the Dead Sea, migrated north to the area. Hence, from the Persian rule and throughout the Hellenistic kingdoms' rule in the region (6th - 1st century BC), Maresha was part of the area known as Idumea.
Maresha emerged as a major Edomite city and with the conquest of the region by Alexander the Great the city was settled by retired Greek soldiers as was then custom. Thus Maresha developed as a Hellenistic city encompassing a multitude of Greek and oriental cultures including Sidonians and Nabataeans." Wikipedia
Maresha emerged as a major Edomite city and with the conquest of the region by Alexander the Great the city was settled by retired Greek soldiers as was then custom. Thus Maresha developed as a Hellenistic city encompassing a multitude of Greek and oriental cultures including Sidonians and Nabataeans." Wikipedia