Dig-for-a-Day and the Heliodorus Inscription

Biblical Archaeology Society Staff October 08, 2013 2 Comments 3014 views Share

Explore the mysterious caves of Maresha in the site’s Dig-for-a-Day program, or read about a unique stela that came from the site in the publicly available BAR articles listed below. Photo: Ian Stern/Archaeological Seminars Institute.

In “A World Below: The Caves of Maresha” in the September/October 2013 issue of BAR, Ian Stern explores the metropolis of caves underneath the Hellenistic town of Maresha. This subterranean world served many of the city’s everyday needs—columbaria for raising doves, cisterns for water, baths perhaps for ritual immersion, animal stables, domestic textile factories and just plain storage. This elaborate manmade underworld supported a multi-ethnic community of Nabateans, Edomites, Phoenicians and Judeans.

These archaeologically rich but unstratified underground chambers provide the perfect setting for untrained archaeologists to uncover the history of a Biblical-era site. Learn about the site’s Dig-for-a-Day program and the fragments of the Heliodorus Stela discovered there in three BAR articles now available to the public for free:

Suzanne F. Singer. “The Dig-for-a-Day Experience.” Biblical Archaeology Review, May/June 2010.

Hershel Shanks. “Inscription Reveals Roots of Maccabean Revolt.” Biblical Archaeology Review, Nov/Dec 2008.

Dorothy Resig. “Volunteers Find Missing Pieces to Looted Inscription.” Biblical Archaeology Review, May/Jun 2010.

Courtesy Ian Stern/Archaeological Seminars Institute

BAS Library Members: Read Ian Stern, “A World Below: The Caves of Maresha.”

Not a BAS Library member yet? Join the BAS Library today.

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2 Responses

Hasmonean Jerusalem Exposed in Time for Hanukkah | When Was Jesus Born? New information is shocking! says:

January 9, 2014 at 11:35 am

[…] by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, an event recorded by Josephus, the books of 1 and 2 Maccabees and the Heliodorus inscription. The Jewish Hasmonean dynasty ruled Judea for a century following the revolt before Roman […]

Reply
jh says:

September 17, 2013 at 10:26 am

I did the dig with my family on a trip several years ago. it was fun for everyone and you always find something in the caves

jeff

Reply

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2 Responses

Hasmonean Jerusalem Exposed in Time for Hanukkah | When Was Jesus Born? New information is shocking! says:

January 9, 2014 at 11:35 am

[…] by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, an event recorded by Josephus, the books of 1 and 2 Maccabees and the Heliodorus inscription. The Jewish Hasmonean dynasty ruled Judea for a century following the revolt before Roman […]

Reply
jh says:

September 17, 2013 at 10:26 am

I did the dig with my family on a trip several years ago. it was fun for everyone and you always find something in the caves

jeff

Reply

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