BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

Initials Findings from Horvat Midras Published

Bible and archaeology news

A preliminary report on the excavations of the Byzantine church site of Horvat Midras, thought to be a memorial to the tomb of the prophet Zechariah,* has been published in the latest issue of the Israel Antiquities Authority journal Hadashot Arkheologiyot. The article, written by excavation directors Amir Ganor and Alon Klein, discusses the various phases of the unique and beautifully decorated Byzantine church, as well as the substantial Jewish settlement that existed at the site until the end of the Second Jewish Revolt (c. 135 C.E.). It was in the fourth century, write the archaeologists, that the memorial cave to Zechariah was first hewn and possibly left deliberately unused. By the fifth and sixth centuries, the cave, together with the church and its relic room, had become a destination for Christian pilgrims.

A preliminary report on the excavations of the Byzantine church site of Horvat Midras, thought to be a memorial to the tomb of the prophet Zechariah, has been published in the latest issue of the Israel Antiquities Authority journal Hadashot Arkheologiyot.

* See Dorothy D. Resig, “Crossing the Holy Land,” Biblical Archaeology Review, September/October 2011.